Darkness of the Soul
by Boogup
Summary: A newcomer at Youkai Academy shows up. The group we all know so well is shaken to its core. How different will things turn out now that this new monster appears. Is he friend, or foe?
1. Change

Author's note: I know I did this story already, and it wasn't well recieved. Looking over it again, I realized that they were right, and my story was, in all honesty, pretty bad and clichè. So, I think I've done a better job with this version. I'm sorry the paragraphs aren't indented, either. I tried every way I could, but Fanfiction's formatting is shit. So, no indents, unfortunately.

* * *

As I rode the empty bus into the tunnel, I leaned my head onto my right hand, looking out of the window as the walls of the tunnel took a vibrant, swirling effect. I watched, mystified by the way the vibrant colors moved and mixed. I squinted as the sun shone in my eyes as we exited the tunnel, and stopped at the bus stop. I put my bag over my shoulder, and shook my black hair from my face, walking off the bus. "Hey kid.." I heard the bus driver say. I looked back at him, and saw he was grinning rather eerily. "I heard you're transferring to Youkai Academy. Never had someone come in during the second semester. You better watch yourself there." He said, chuckling after he finished talking. I smiled lightly. "It's the school you gotta worry about." I said jokingly, and the Bus Driver shrugged, closing the door, and driving off. I turned towards the school, and started my scenic forest stroll towards my new future.

Walking up to the school's courtyard, what my eyes saw didn't match what I had imagined. This was a monster school, yet...There were humans walking around! " _Wait a minute, Jason, you're a fucking moron_ " I mentally scolded myself. " _This is a school meant for monsters to learn to live among humans. These are disguises!_ " I looked to the left, and saw some girl with blue hair glomping some poor asshole tits-first. I chuckled at the sight, and kept walking, going towards the Headmaster's office. Inside, he was sitting at his desk, peering at me as if he was waiting patiently for a Christmas present. But instead he got me. I was the Christmas present... Similes...

"Ah, you must be Jason, right?" he asked. I nodded, walking over to him, and sitting in front of his desk. I couldn't even see his eyes under his white hood, which was part of some robes. I noticed a cross hanging from his neck, and I almost winced. I don't mix very well with silver...

"Yeah, I am. I trust that my ties to y _ou know who_ will be kept between us?" I asked, to which the Headmaster nodded, grinning.

"As long as you let them~" He said, smiling eerily. I blinked, and continued the conversation.

"...Right, so I guess all I need is my schedule and my dorm room and I'll be good!" I said, and the Headmaster nodded, handing me my information.

"You may want to hurry. The first class of the day starts in five minutes!" he said, and I rolled my eyes, jogging off towards class, looking at my schedule. Classroom 2-1. I walked in just in time, dropping my backpack down as I sat in the back, towards the middle. In front of me was a girl with purple hair, and to my left was a kid in a witch costume.

" _Isn't she a bit young to be in High School?_ " I thought to myself. I shrugged, and looked up a seat, seeing the same guy who got glomped earlier. He was talking to titty girl about...something or other. I couldn't have cared less. Then, the teacher spoke in a very cheery tone.

"I'd like to welcome you all back to Youkai Academy!" The class roared with cheers, and I looked around, feeling mildly out of place. The teacher read something off of a paper, and looked towards me. "And, I'd like to welcome a new student here! Please, identify yourself." she said, and I knew she meant me. I stood up, all five feet and 11 inches of me towering over most of the kids. I did a slight wave, and nodded.

"Jason. My name's Jason." I said, and sat down, feeling all eyes on me. I noticed a girl with pink hair looking at me a bit too intently, as if studying my organs from the outside. I paid her little attention, and I went through class silently.

The day went by fast, and sooner than later it was lunch time. I didn't want to really be near people, so I sat where any other guy would sit. The roof, alone. I admired the way the breeze went through my hair as I ate my food. Then, the door to the roof opened, and some thuggish looking guys walked over to me. "Well lookie here, we got ourselves a little emo bitch!" the biggest guy said. He was about 6'5, and absolutely jacked. His biceps threatened to rip his shirt at any second, and his sneer made me a tad bit worried.

"Look man, I don't want any trouble. Just walk away now, and we won't have to fight." I said, looking over my shoulder at him. He sneered at me, as if I were just some piece of trash left out on the sidewalk.

"Ha, cowardly are ya?" He taunted me, his body growing taller and bulkier. His true form was now revealed to me. He was a troll, and a big one at that. "No problem then, hehe. I'll smash you to pieces and be done with it!" The troll roared, and charged at me.

"Hey, isn't that the new kid?" Kurumu said as she looked up at the lone figure on the roof. Moka looked, and nodded, thinking again. " _That's the same guy from class this morning..._ " She thought to herself, before being interrupted. Three guys had joined the loner on the roof, and it was clear things were getting heated up there. Moka looked at Tsukune, and nodded.

"We gotta help him! No telling how bad he'll be hurt by them!" Tsukune said, to which Moka, Kurumu, Yukari and Mizore nodded, and ran towards the roof.

"OH SHIT!" I jumped to the left, the Troll's right arm clipping my ankle, sending me tumbling on the floor. "AGH!" I screamed as I sliced my arm on a piece of broken glass. " _Come on...I can't reveal my true form! Not here!_ " I thought worriedly.

"COME ON, FIGHT ME!" he screamed, running at me again. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion; I felt a huge power approaching, and the door to the roof swung open, and on top of that, the Big Guy was almost at me, his left fist swinging at my face! I took a deep breath, remembering what little training I had gotten before coming here. Letting a bit of Youkai energy flow into my right hand, I ducked under his fist, and punched him in the gut. The Troll doubled over slightly, gripping his stomach. He looked up, and I gulped, my heart pounding from adrenaline.

"That...That was a mistake, dickhead!" He yelled, and charged me again. I let a bit more of my energy flow into my leg, and I caught him in the face with my foot, and he flipped over, landing painfully on his back, unconscious.

"YASUI!" one of his goons yelled, running over to help him. He waved his arm, and Goon #2 came over, and together they lifted Yasui up, and down towards the main floor. I panted, sitting down, gripping my arm in pain as it bled. I saw the girls and one guy from earlier, along with someone with silver hair. Her face...It almost mirrored the pink haired girl's, but it was more stern. She walked over to me, and sniffed, before looking down at me. I could almost _feel_ the judgement radiating off of her.

"What kind of pathetic excuse for a Vampire are you?" She asked sharply, and I stood up, furrowing my brow.

" _How the hell could she know about what I am?!_ " I thought to myself, my heart still pounding, and my knees shaking. She absolutely radiated power, and it was completely overwhelming! Her red eyes seemed to pierce my soul as she glared at me." _Is...Is this what a Vampire's power really is? I thought I was strong, but-_ " My thoughts were interrupted as she scolded me again.

"Tell me, what kind of Vampire almost gets defeated by a **Troll**?!" She exclaimed sharply, and I flinched. "Those are the weakest of the weak!" She pushed me, and I stumbled a bit before standing up.

"How do you know what I am? I didn't reveal my true form!" I said, and the girl shook her head. The other girls and the boy looked at me sympathetically. Clearly she was like this to them, too. "And to answer your question, I didn't go full out! I didn't want to reveal my true form here!" I exclaimed.

"Hmph. What a lousy excuse. And your blood gives it all away. You smell like a Vampire, through and through." She said, as if it should have been plain as day. I shook my head, and sighed.

"Look. I don't know what your problem is, but I gotta go eat. I'm too hungry to continue on talking." I said as my stomach grumbled. The Vampiress shook her head, and walked off with her friends, once again leaving me alone. " _Jesus...Looks like I'm pretty chickenshit after all..._ "


	2. Rembrandt

As I walked over to my food, which had, amazingly, been left untouched, the girl with silver hair scoffed, and walked off, grabbing something from the guy in the group. I sat down and started eating again, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, and saw the guy looking down towards me. "Hey," he said, smiling lightly. "I'm Tsukune Aono. Sorry Moka was so mean. It's just how she is." he said, and I shrugged, nodding. I finished my bite of food, and stood up, shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Tsukune. My name's Jason," I said. Tsukune smiled, and walked back downstairs, leaving me alone with my thoughts. " _Jeez…What a weird gaggle of people…_ " I thought as I ate my food. I finished it, and walked down to the main level, throwing it away. After that, I walked towards the courtyard, heading towards the graveyard looking place. It was one of the only places I really wanted to be right now, since clearly I couldn't be alone anywhere else. I leaned back against a tombstone, and sat until classes resumed. The entire time, though, I couldn't stop thinking about who **had** to have been Moka. There was no other explanation for their similarity in looks! But…How could there be two versions of the same person? " _It just doesn't make any damned_ **sense** _!_ " I thought, standing up. " _I'll have to find out somehow… Maybe the Headmaster knows something_." I walked to class, hearing that the bell had just rung. " _This is going to be an interesting school…_ " I thought, sitting in my seat for English.

Sitting in my dorm room, I looked out of the window at the setting sun. The pink and orange colors cast upon the cloudy sky reminded me of when I was a kid. My heart sank in my chest as I remembered my family. I missed them a lot, and I couldn't even go see them yet! I got up, and just as I was about to get undressed, I felt it. An enormous power heading towards the school. I looked out of the window, and I stood petrified as I saw a man in a trench coat walking towards the school. He looked like a regular guy, but.. " _That guy…His power's enormous!_ " I thought as I ran down, and out to the area he was in.

The man sneered at me, as if looking at some mouse in his new house. "You're Jason, right?" he suddenly asked, looking at me with… " _Red eyes?! Don't tell me… Fuck!_ " I thought, trembling, my knees shaking. "Hmph. For such supposed power, you sure act like a weakling…" he continued, stepping towards me. His aura kept growing, and my heart was beating a mile a minute. "Someone as cowardly as you should die a painful death!" he roared, punching me square in the face. I flew in the air, sliding painfully on the ground, my face feeling like a steamroller had just run me over. I grunted, getting up on shaky knees, seeing he was already charging at me. I barely had enough time to jump out of the way, landing on my back. " _He's fast too! I…I'm gonna die!_ " I thought, shaking my head. I refused to die just standing. If I was going to die, it would have to be fighting! Just as I was about to let my true form out, **he** was already out.

"Hey!" I heard someone yell. I turned, and saw Tsukune standing about 10 feet from me, and 20 from him. "Leave him alone!" he continued, and the Vampire sneered, clearly displeased with his killing time being interrupted. He growled, stepping towards us. " _How the hell is Tsukune standing up to him like that?! Doesn't he feel his power?_ " I thought as the Vampire started running at us.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" I yelled, running at Tsukune, and pushing him away, catching the Vampire's fist in my gut. Fire erupted in my gut, and I coughed, blood flying out of my mouth as I saw white. I felt pain in my face again as my skull seemed to collapse into itself, and the next thing I knew, I was on my back, in utter agony. I stood up, coughing up more blood. "Ngh…No good…" I said to myself. "Looks like I'll have to reveal myself.." I said, then chuckled. " _It was nice while it lasted._ " I stood up straight, and let all of my power out, a red light enveloping me.

My body grew more muscle tone, and my aura grew significantly. I opened my eyes, and looked at the enemy. I walked towards him, and he smirked, clenching his fists. "That's it! Now it'll be **fun** to kill you!" he said, charging at me. I grunted, moving to the side, and kicking him in the chest. He grunted, stopped in his tracks, maintaining his stance. "That's better, kid! BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH!" he screamed, and plowed his elbow into my face, my nose cracking and spraying blood from my nostrils. I flew backwards, crashing into the wall of a dorm building. I saw a flash of silver, and suddenly, Moka's leg was crashing into the man's face, spraying blood from his mouth.

"KNOW YOUR PLACE!" She shouted, and the man was sent crashing to the ground. He laughed as he got up, spitting out blood. "Weakling." Moka said, glancing back at me. "Get out of here. You'll only get in the way." She said dismissively, readying herself to fight.

"No…" I said under my breath, walking besides Moka. Something inside of me snapped, and I saw red. I felt the ground shaking, and I saw Moka and Tsukune looking at me shocked, while the Vampire just looked amused. The last thing I remember is me charging, plowing my fists into the man over and over again…


	3. Scum

I woke up, gasping and sweating. I panted heavily, and looked around me. All I saw was a nightstand to my right, and some sort of medical equipment next to me. Instead of water in the IV bag, there was blood. I sat up, holding my head as it throbbed painfully. It felt like a tiny person was banging metal hammers on the inside of my skull. My vision blurred, and I shook my head, laying back into the bed. "You may not want to move too much, Jason~" I heard from directly in front of me. I looked, and saw Headmaster standing in the corner of the room. "You spent a lot of energy on that guy, you know." He walked over to me, grinning in that eerie way he did.

"What do you mean..?" I asked, my voice hoarse. I felt like somebody stuck a hose in my veins and sucked all of my energy out of me. My muscles ached, and my eyes felt like they were being stabbed. " _What the hell happened?_ " I thought, gritting my teeth at the immense pain. The Headmaster smirked, stepping closer to me, into the light. " _Is he wearing the same robes from yesterday? That's fucking gross…_ " I thought.

"That fight last night, of course~" He said, looking at me as if I were a frog a sadistic student was about to dissect. "When you threw your little tantrum, you spent almost all of your energy on splattering his brains on the floor." He walked over to the IV, watching it slowly drip as he continued talking. "Tsukune and his friend Moka brought you here." He added. "Now, I think you could learn well from her second personality, Jason~ She's very good at using her abilities." He said, probably referring to Silver haired Moka.

I looked at him almost like he had grown a second head. "I don't think you've seen her interact with me." I said, gripping my head again as I felt it throb. "Agh…She'd probably rather kill me than train me." I said. "And using her as an example isn't exactly fair!" I said, curling up as my chest suddenly felt like it imploded. "I only became a Vampire a few months ago.." I said, remembering how painful the experience was. I shivered, looking around again.

"Well, you can rest easy." Headmaster said. "I've arranged with her that you begin training with her as soon as you're recovered." He said, and I swear his smile was a bit too devious looking. "She seemed all too eager to train you~ I'd say you're in for some fun~" He said, and my heart began racing, making the heart monitor go off. "I'll let you rest. Take care~" He walked out, leaving me alone with my thoughts, and the tiny hammering man in my head.

I woke up again, and groaned, sitting up. The good news was, the throbbing pain in my head and body in general stopped. The not so good news was Moka was staring at me. I jumped, and sighed, realizing it was her pink haired counterpart. "Jesus, you scared the shit out of me…" I said, sitting up in my bed. Odd…She looked so timid…Nothing like the Silver haired version of her! It was if they were… " _Two souls in a body!_ " I thought, the pieces clicking into place. " _She has some sort of method or way to change personalities!_ " I groaned, sitting up. "Hello…I'm-" Moka cut me off mid-sentence.

"Jason, I know…Headmaster told me. He also said that Inner Me was going to train you once you got better." I nodded, chuckling lightly. She looked confused at me, and cocked her head. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"Just Headmaster." I said, looking at her again. " _And the fact that I was right…_ " I thought to myself. "Anyways…You mentioned Inner You?" I asked, and sat up a bit more, grunting. "What does that mean?" I hoped she'd tell me what the deal was with her ability. " _Hell, maybe I could get her to tell me how she switches!_ " Moka held up the cross that was dangling from her neck. It was attached to what could only be described as a leather choker. " _That's…Kind of goth. Maybe mildly kinky. Tsukune's into some weird stuff…_ " I thought to myself, before she started talking.

"This Rosary limits my true form. So, what you're seeing now is my human disguise. When it's taken off, my true Vampire form is revealed!" She said, looking down at her rosary. I nodded, furrowing my brow. That wasn't at all what I imagined at all! I had been hoping there was some Vampire ability I could learn to make another personality. Maybe one that wasn't such a weirdo…

"That seems like a disadvantage, doesn't it?" I asked, and Moka responded by simply cocking her head and furrowing her brow. I continued, explaining a little better what I meant. "Well, that thing's hanging from your neck in plain view! Any fool could rip it off and then surprise attack you..Her. Y'all." I said, and Moka shook her head. She had obviously been asked that question a lot. I noticed that Moka looked really innocent. As if she was a middle schooler in a high schooler's body.

"It can only be removed by Tsukune, for some reason. Not even **I** can remove it!" She exclaimed, proving her point by tugging on the rosary. It didn't do anything besides clank on the metal that connected it to the choker. I nodded, feeling even more confused. " _How the hell does this work? Is it some kind of magic, maybe?_ " I thought, trying to figure out how something like a necklace could seal someone as immensely powerful as Moka! Well…The silver haired one, anyways. I laid back in the bed, and I sighed, feeling exhausted just from this long conversation.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm exhausted. Do you think you could step out so I can sleep?" I asked softly, yawning. Moka nodded, and left the room without a word. " _Training with her…What the hell's wrong with Headmaster? She's gonna work me to death, if she doesn't beat me first!_ " I thought, before closing my eyes, and passing out.


	4. Resurgance

I woke up again, but this time I was alone. The IV machine wasn't hooked into my arm anymore, so I wasn't getting any more blood. I took off the heart monitor on my left index finger, and I sighed. I felt less terrible, which was pretty awesome, until I remembered I had to start training soon. " _Fuck…_ " I thought, as I moved to the edge of my bed, swinging my legs down to the ground. I took a tentative step down, and slowly stood up. " _Hey, I can stand without doing the Elvis Pelvis!_ " I quipped to myself, and I walked around the bed to the nightstand, hoping a change of clothes would be in there. Next to the lamp there was a folded piece of paper, with my name on it. I leaned down and picked up the piece of paper, and I started to unfold it and read it.

" _Dear Jason. As you're reading this, I'm almost sure you're better by now. Whenever you feel ready and capable, come to my office to begin your training. ~Headmaster._ " It read, and I put it down, sighing. This training was going to be awful, I could feel it. I looked in the drawer of the nightstand, and found my school uniform. I stripped out of my hospital robes, and changed into the uniform. I then walked out of the hospital room and into the lobby. I signed myself out, and then walked to the school's courtyard. It was about a half mile, if I had to take a guess. It looked like everyone was leaving to go to their dorms, so I decided to just go to mine. As I was walking there, I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around, and saw Moka, smiling softly.

"Hey, I almost missed you!" she said softly, and I chuckled, nodding.

"Yeah, you got me just in time." I said back, and Moka looked around. Obviously she wasn't too thrilled about having to train me either. "Look," I said, sighing as I put my hands in my pockets. "I'm not very thrilled about this training either. But frankly, Headmaster told me to, and he scares me more than **she** does. So, I have no other choice." I said, to which Moka looked down. It looked like she was staring at her rosary, which would have seemed crazy if I didn't know a person was in there. " _That's so fucking crazy…A whole person in one necklace? That must have been how 80s gamers felt about the NES._ " I thought, before continuing. "How about I meet you at that graveyard place at about six o'clock?" I asked her.

"Yeah, that sounds fine. I'll let Tsukune know so he can let Inner me out." She said, nodding in response to my question. I gave her a half smile, and nodded.

"I'm going to go to my dorm and sleep some more. I'll need the rest, judging from Inner you's personality." I said, chuckling. I waved goodbye to Moka, and she waved back. I then turned around, and kept walking towards my dorm. I walked inside, and looked around. " _Doesn't look like anything's changed._ " I thought, going to the small kitchen in the dorm and opening all the cabinets. " _Looks like Headmaster stocked up my kitchen for me!_ " I thought excitedly, looking at all the tomato juice and easy to make food that was in the cabinets. I picked out some rice and beans. I opened the fridge, and found a steak that was in one of its shelves. I started making my meal, and thought about my training tomorrow. "Ugh, and I gotta do classes right after that…Shit." I said to myself as I watched the beef sizzle in the pan. In a few minutes, I was sitting on the small two seated couch, eating my dinner. For some reason, there were no TV's anywhere, and internet didn't seem to exist. So, I ate in silence, thinking about what happened before coming to this school… The pain of that process….I thought I would die several times over during those six months. I shook my head, clearing those thoughts from my mind. " _That won't help me now._ " I thought to myself as I walked to the bed, and changed into my sleeping clothes, going to sleep.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP! I groaned and slapped down on my alarm clock. I looked at it through squinted eyes, reading that it was 5:30 in the morning. " _Ugh, I should still be sleeping right now…_ " I thought to myself, as I got out of bed. I changed into my P.E clothes, and ate a quick pancake and ham breakfast. I walked out towards the graveyard area, and I saw Moka and Tsukune were waiting for me. Tsukune looked at Moka, who nodded, and Moka's rosary was removed, the form I was still deathly afraid of now out and about. Tsukune walked a few feet away, not wanting to be in the way. Inner Moka looked at me, and smirked, walking towards me.

"So, I hope you're ready to start training." She said, her expression a bit too amused for my tastes. It was as if I were a mouse backed into a corner by a cat, and it was slowly inching towards its prey. I nodded in response to her question, my heart crawling up to my throat and thumping out so hard, it should have been played in a nightclub. "Well, I'll warn you right now, weakling. You're not getting off easy just cause you're weak. If you die, then you die. I won't spare you." She spat out coldly. She got into a fighting stance, and nodded. I got into a similar position to her. In seemingly one second, she was right in front of me, plowing her knee into my gut. I gasped, the wind getting knocked out of me as I flew upwards, landing on my knees and clutching my stomach. I groaned, getting up shakily, and looking at her. She ran at me, and everything went in slow motion again as my adrenaline began pumping. She sent a fist flying at my face, and I weaved to the left, throwing a punch when my legs were suddenly swept out from under me. I landed on my back, and grunted in pain.

"Come on, this is pathetic. **Get up**!" Moka barked at me sharply. I got up, backing away from her. This wasn't good… " _At this rate, I really_ am _going to die_!" I thought as I readied myself. I ran at Moka, throwing punches left and right, which she dodged. She caught my right fist, and I kicked up my right knee, catching her fist, which was coming towards my gut. I grit my teeth, and I threw a left hook, catching her right in the face. She grunted, her head snapping to the right, and she glared at me as she threw me backwards. "Good. But you'll need to do a lot better!" She yelled, and in an instant, she was at my side, sending a kick right towards my head. I yelped, ducking and catching her leg. She hopped up, adjusting herself, and I used this to throw her leg up, and her off balance, kicking her in her defenseless side. Moka's eyes went wide as she groaned in pain, glaring daggers at me, her eyes practically glowing in anger. She punched me square in the face, breaking my nose, blood instantly leaking out of my nostrils as I flew backwards, crashing into the ground.

"Guys!" Tsukune shouted, running over to us. "It's almost time for class!" He said, pointing to his watch, which read "7:45." I nodded, getting up and wiping the blood from my upper lip. Moka looked at Tsukune, and nodded, before sneering at me.

"We'll continue tomorrow." she said, looking at me like I was a moldy piece of bread. She looked down, and sighed, reluctant to give me any sort of props. "But good work. You might have some potential…" She said, and I chuckled, nodding.

"Thanks…I'm gonna go internally bleed on the way to class." I quipped, and started walking off. The last thing I saw of Tsukune and Moka was him giving her rosary back to her. I returned to my dorm, changing into my uniform, and heading to class.


	5. Sinning

I grunted in pain as my back slammed down against the unforgiving dirt path, and sighed, kipping up. "You've improved a bit. Maybe now you'll actually stand a chance." Moka said, still looking at me as prey, but also as an opponent. There was something I hadn't ever seen in her eyes; I saw concern. It was as if she had played with her food too long, and now the mouse was about to leap forward and bite the cat. I chuckled, and dashed at Moka, amazed at my own speed as I threw a flurry of punches her way. She ducked and weaved, the punches she couldn't dodge were caught by her forearms. She countered, shoving my hand to the side, and kicking me square in the gut. I grunted, grabbing her leg, and threw her about five feet. I panted, dripping with sweat as my muscles ached.

"Phew…" I said, leaning down onto my knees and looking at Moka. "Three weeks and you're still wiping the floor with me.." I shook my head and stood up. My muscles screamed in protest as I rose up from my semi crouched position, but I ignored it. After all, it was probably about time for class today. Moka walked past me, collecting her rosary from Tsukune, who had been training just before me. He fared much better than me, which added quite a bit of insult to lots of sustained injuries. There was barely an inch of me that wasn't covered in scratches, bruises, or healing cuts. Even with a Vampire's healing factor, Moka just hit me too hard, and too often for me to heal all the way. " _Use and abuse, as Dad would say._ " I thought to myself, and felt a bit of sadness at the thought of my Dad. It had been almost a year since I was sent to Japan from America to come here. " _I hope I can go to America again soon…_ " I thought, and looked at Moka as she spoke to me.

"That's because you're still just a weakling. You've improved, yes. But you're a disgrace to all Vampires. I don't even know why I'm bothering with you." She spat out at me. I had to admit, she was pretty damn hurtful, especially with how bluntly she said things. "I'm going back to the rosary.. Until tomorrow, welp." She finished up her little speech (complete with dramatic ending), and hooked her rosary back around her neck. In an instant, harsh, cold Moka disappeared, and the more timid, kind Moka reappeared. I walked off towards my dorm, waving to Tsukune, ignoring the liquid magma that surged through my tricep.

My day had been going fairly well, all soreness and bruising considered. Everything went downhill during lunch, while I was eating with Tsukune and his friends. I could tell Tsukune was the only one who was really comfortable with me. Outer Moka and the other girls all avoided talking to me if absolutely necessary. Yukari, who I learned last week was the name of the small witch girl. Turns out she is too young to be in high school, but she's just ridiculously fucking smart. That's some anime type shit right there if I ever saw it. But, we were all eating and having a generally alright time, all awkwardness aside.

"Hey!" I heard from my left side. I turned, and saw about three guys, all tall and kinda skinny, with nice leather jackets on. Clearly they weren't attending this school, or they were breaking the rules at the very least. The one on the right had light blond hair, and dark brown eyes. His hair was short, almost like an undercut, and was gelled up in the front, making him look like an old 50s mascot. The guy in the middle had dark brown hair, and hazel eyes, his hair pulled back into a ponytail. He looked like somebody pissed in his lemonade, and he never quite got over the disgusting taste. The leftmost guy was almost gothic looking, with jet black hair, and sharp blue eyes. He was pale as a ghost, and his lips really popped out because of his skin tone. The guy on the right spoke again. "You're that Jason kid, right?" I nodded, and he sneered, turning to his buddies. "This is him." He motioned to me, and his buddies all sneered at me. At this point, Tsukune stood up, standing next to me. I saw from the corner of my eye that his fists were clenched.

"I'm a bit out of the loop, so I'll go ahead and ask why you're looking for me." I said, my heart beating faster as I grew nervous from their looks. Something about them just rubbed me the wrong way, big time. Moka and the other girls looked at us, then the other guys worriedly.

"Well, you see, we heard you were some kind of berserker. Not every day we feel someone's power from the other side of that tunnel." The guy in the middle said, stepping forward. "We want that power for ourselves, and for that to happen, we need your blood." He sneered at me, his eyes glowing purple. I got into a defensive stance, as did Tsukune. I noticed something dangling from his left wrist, and I furrowed my brow, looking back at the men. "So, it's nothing personal, really. But, we'll have to kill you~" he said, licking his lips.

"Hey, I'm not gonna let that happen!" Tsukune said fiercely. The man in the middle smirked, and looked at Tsukune. "If you think I'll let you hurt my friends, then you're sorely mistaken!" He said again, clenching his fists even tighter. " _Why would he be so protective of me like this? It's not like we're really friends…_ " I thought, as the man in the middle laughed. He stepped over to Tsukune, and glared at him. All at once, Tsukune flew backwards, hitting a tree before falling to the ground.

"Tsukune!" Moka cried, as she ran over to his aid. I looked back at the man, and I screamed, punching him square in the jaw. His head snapped to the side, yet he didn't show any signs of pain. I felt the side of his mouth go up in a smile, as he gripped my arm, and pulled me towards him raising his knee so it plowed right into my gut. I groaned, the wind getting knocked from my lungs, and blood spurted from my lips. The man sneered at me as he threw me, causing me to fly through the air, landing on my left side. I groaned, shakily getting up. I felt hands underneath my arms, helping me to stand. I looked, and saw Kurumu, and the Ice girl Mizore helping me up. From the expressions on their faces, they were just as scared of these guys as I was, yet they were used to fighting strong opponents.

"Thanks.." I said, looking at Tsukune and Moka. Tsukune had done something, and his power spiked up tremendously. He dashed at the guy who hit me, and plowed his fist right into the guy's face, smashing it. I saw blood and teeth fly from the guy's mouth as I looked at Tsukune in shock. I ran over, and I was suddenly punched by the guy with blond hair. I hissed in pain as my head turned, and I stumbled. I began seeing red, and felt the ground trembling again, like that night with the Vampire! " _Oh no…Not again!_ " I thought, as I charged. It was as if I were looking through a camera, but on my own body as I screamed, tackling the man and began to punch him in the face. I vaguely felt someone grab my from behind, and I looked, seeing the gothic guy trying to stop me. I punched him, feeling his jaw crack as he fell to the floor.

I raised my foot up, almost delivering the final blow, when I felt something hit my back. Growling ferally, I turned, seeing Mizore holding out her left arm. "You need to calm down!" She said, and I felt myself moving again, while I futilely tried to stop myself. " _Why can't I control myself! Stop! NO!_ " I thought, screaming at myself as my foot crashed into Mizore's face. Kurumu glared daggers at me, and swiped at me with her claws. My body was too dumb to move, and got three slash marks down my torso. My body went again on autopilot, grabbing her by the head, and slamming her down. " _This isn't good! I can't stop myself from_ -" Everything suddenly went black as I felt a painful thud on my head.


	6. Forthcoming

When I woke up, the first thing I realized was how many times I've been kicked in the cranial area this month. A whopping total of 15. How I didn't have brain damage or some kind of concussion was was beyond me. I knew Vampires were good at healing, but I didn't think it was **that** good. I groaned, sitting up on the dirt floor, noticing that everyone was glaring down at me, minus Tsukune who was talking to Yukari. I didn't need to ask what happened, but I started talking anyways. "Nhh…Look, I-" I was interrupted by an angry Mizore.

"Shut up! You tried to kill me and Kurumu, and now you want to try and sweet talk your way out of this?!" She asked angrily, her right hand morphing into large ice spikes. I yelped, scuttling backwards in fear of catching a shard in an…Unpleasant place. Mizore shook her head, and walked off, Kurumu walking off with her. I sighed in relief, and stood up, sighing in relief. Outer Moka just gave me this look… As if I were the worst possible kind of monster. " _A ghoul… It's like I turned into one of those awful creatures…_ " I thought to myself. I had only heard of ghouls through one of the Vampire elders, Danag Everlid. " _The one who turned me…_ " I thought, before snapping back to the present. Moka walked towards Mizore and Kurumu, while Tsukune and Yukari walked over to me.

"Hey…" Tsukune said, putting his hand on my shoulder. I shook my head, and shrugged his hand off. "Look, I know what you're going through, sort of." I looked at him curiously, furrowing my eyebrows. "I'm not a Vampire, you know. I'm a human." My eyes widened at his statement, and he nodded. "I have the blood of a Vampire inside of me, though. It's just this Holy Lock that's keeping me from becoming a **ghoul**." He said. He held up his left arm, pulling his sleeve back. Wrapped around wrist were a series of links, almost like a chain.

"You…You're just a human, yet you tried to save me that night." I said, remembering my first ever fight with another Vampire. The first night I had ever feared for my life, and feared that I wouldn't be good enough. "Why did you even try to save me, anyways? You barely knew me!" I exclaimed, and I threw my hands up to my sides. "I'm just some weakling in a Vampire's body! Why do you even care if I live or die?" I asked, tearing up at my own self reflection. Tears streamed down my face as I started sobbing. Tsukune patted my shoulder, and looked at me comfortingly.

"Hey, you don't have to feel bad about being weak. Look at everyone else! Moka's the most powerful of us all, right?" I nodded my head, sniffling as I wiped my face. It grew hot as well, from the embarrassment of breaking down like that, especially in front of someone. "But we all give it our all! It doesn't matter how much power you have, but how much fight you have." He smiled reassuringly, and I slowly nodded, taking it in. He was right, really. " _It would explain why those demons tried to fight me, despite my species…_ " I thought, sort of analogizing his statement. "I'm going to see Headmaster…I need to ask him a few questions." I said, and I walked off towards his office. Tsukune nodded, and I was on my way.

Walking into Headmaster's building, I knocked on the heavy wooden door, waiting a second for it to open. When it did, a brunette woman in a victorian style dress opened the door. I blushed, seeing how pretty she was, and she nodded professionally. "Hello. Do you have an appointment with the Headmaster? I'm Ruby, by the way." She smiled in a friendly manner, bowing slightly. I bowed to her, and smiled, my fangs no doubt showing.

"Ah, no, but I'm something of a friend to him. Tell him that Jason's here to see him." I said, and Ruby nodded.

"I'll let him know, Jason. Pleasure to meet you, as well." She said to me before she walked off to tell Headmaster about my arrival. About a minute later, she came back to me, and held her arm out, motioning towards the hallway leading to the office. "Right this way. He seemed like he wanted to talk to you." She shrugged, not thinking much of it, obviously. I smiled to her, and walked down the hall, straight into Headmaster's office. He gave me that signature creepy smile of his, and motioned towards the chair in front of his desk.

"Please, sit down Jason. I was about to call you in here, when my assistant told me you came to visit! What a happy set of coincidences." He quipped, before interlocking his fingers. "So, I wanted to talk about you. I heard you berserker raged earlier today, yes? Nearly killed two students, and successfully killed three people. What a fire-y one you are~" He chuckled, before clearing his throat. "You need to get that power under control. I thought training with Moka would solve that, but obviously not." He chuckled, smirking as he looked at me. "SO I'm training you personally." He said.

My jaw dropped slightly, and I raised my left eyebrow. "You're kidding right? No offense, but aren't you a bit old to be training anyone?" I asked, and all he did was smirk.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough, won't you?~" He stood up, walking over to me. "Follow me. You will begin your training under me tomorrow." He said, walking down the hall. I followed him, watching as he turned right instead of left, where the main entrance to his office was. My eyes widened as I saw a large rectangular structure sitting at the end of the hall. " _I didn't even see that when I walked in! How did I miss something that obvious?_ " I scolded myself, before Headmaster began to speak again. "This is the entrance to a little place I like to call 'Paradise'~ It will provide the perfect place for you to train, as you'll soon see for yourself!" He exclaimed, and waved his hands, shooing me. "Now, off you go. You'll need plenty of rest before you start your training. Met me in my office at eight o'clock sharp." He said, and I nodded.

"Yes sir.." I said, before walking off to see Tsukune. He was talking with Moka and Yukari, when he stopped and waved at me. I walked over to him, and looked down for a second, sighing. I gained my composure, and I looked back up at him. "I'm leaving tomorrow…." I said softly, and Tsukune's face contorted to show worry.

"Why are you leaving? It's not because of today, is it? You just have to learn to-"

"Stop. You can't change this. It's out of my control, alright? I have to do this, for you all, and for myself, more importantly. I don't know when or if I'll be back, so don't wait up for me…" I said, and Tsukune softly nodded, clearly not liking the fact that I was leaving. I didn't understand why, though. He barely talked to me, yet he was acting like I was his best friend just leaving him! I shook my head, and went to my dorm. I ate a quick dinner, and went to sleep almost immediately.


	7. Normality

I woke up at seven thirty, to give myself enough time to get ready for the day. I packed up the suitcase I had brought on my first day with all my clothes. " _I can't believe it's been almost a month since I got here…Since my life changed forever. Thank you, Moka. You helped me become stronger, and now I'll get even better. I'll prove that I'm not weak…_ " I thought as I carried my suitcase down to the main entrance of the dorms. I sighed, looking around for a piece of paper and a pen. I found the two items, and I wrote a quick note.

" **Dear Tsukune,**

 **By the time you read this, I'll be long gone. I'm not telling you where I'm going, because I don't want you to be there. This is one thing I have to do by myself. Besides… don't waste your time with somebody as useless, somebody as uncontrollable as me. Tell Moka (Inner Moka) that I appreciate everything she did for me, even when she was being so cold towards me. She didn't like me much, I can tell, but I thought of her as a good person through her cold exterior… Tell her I'm going to prove myself, and when she sees me again, I won't be weak. Yours in departure, Jason.** "

I ran up to Tsukune's level, and slipped the note under his door. After I ran back downstairs, I got my suitcase, and I walked to Headmaster's office building. By the time I got there, it was about 7:50, and I sighed through my nose, my heart heavy about leaving the academy. I took one last look back, burning the image into my mind, and continued to the office. Headmaster was standing at the window adjacent to his desk looking out of the window, his hands behind his back. He turned his head to me, and checked the clock on the wall above me. "Right on time. Very good…Now, before we enter Paradise, I must warn you~" He said, walking towards me. He was taller than me, and if I had to guess, he was about six feet and four inches tall. Something about him put me on edge, as if he were about to turn around and punch me in the head. "Paradise is an unforgiving place, as per my design. It's home to endangered monsters, many of which are very powerful. If you don't be careful, you **will** be killed." He said, a grim tone set in his voice, and a threatening feeling taking hold of the atmosphere. I nodded in understanding, and Headmaster motioned for me to follow him as he strolled towards the portal. I grabbed my suitcase, and walked swiftly after him through the portal. I turned back, looking as the view through the portal to the hallway suddenly closed. "H…Oh my god!"

The place that we entered was like nothing I had ever seen before. Lush green fields spanned as far out in front of me as I could see, topped with colorful, vibrant flowers. To our right, about a mile away was a thick forest, untouched by anything, or anyone. I looked up, and my jaw dropped and my eyes widened. A huge planet was in the sky, taking up a large portion of it, its rings like a knife carving a line through the sky. I looked at Headmaster astonished. "Ah, I suppose I should explain Paradise to you… It's a safe haven for endangered monsters that I've created. It's an entirely seprate dimension from our own, so nobody can disturb us while you train. Now then…Let us begin~" He said, shedding his robe. A series of Holy Locks, like the one Tsukune had were wrapped around his muscular body. My eyes widened as I watched him rip them all off, his body immediately growing, until he took the form of his true self.

"A…A Kishin?!" I exclaimed as my heart pounded at his immense power. He nodded, examining himself as he flexed his biceps. "I thought those were just legends among Demons! I..I never thought-"

"You were wrong~" Headmaster said. He cracked his knuckles and his neck, as if he hadn't been in that form for years. "Now…" He said, his voice serious as he looked up at me, a gleam in his eyes. "Your training starts now!" He yelled the last word as he dashed at me. I yelled in fear as I ducked below him, watching him soar over me. At the last second, his foot slammed into my face, slamming me headfirst into the ground. I groaned, spitting out blood as I got up. Now it was my turn to go on the offensive. Planting my right foot into the ground, I charged some energy into it, pushing off, soaring at him. He stood still, awaiting my attack. My fist crashed into his chest, yet he didn't even move an inch! I gasped, and grunted, throwing another punch at his face with all my might. Headmaster's hand swiftly went up, grabbing my fist and stopping it as if it were just a piece of paper. "You disappoint me, Jason." He pushed my arm backwards, and my eyes were still wide open from the shock of his power. "I thought your training with Moka would have made you at least a little stronger." He smiled, looking at me as if I were a piece of clay he'd soon turn into a great sculpture. "I'll make sure you're more powerful than you could possibly think you could be by the time you're done."

"I don't think that's possible… I'm too weak to ever get strong, Headmaster. You might as well just leave me here to die." I said softly, looking down. Moka had always been right, even when I thought I was strong, she showed me that I was nothing, the lowest of the low among Vampires, and even monsters. Headmaster tapped me on the shoulder, and I looked up at him. He was smirking and shaking his head as he scoffed.

"I've heard a lot of lies over the years, Jason. But that was the biggest lie I've heard in my entire life." He said, and I raised an eyebrow up at him in wonder. "Think about your berserker rage, when you fought the Vampire, and those Demons. The ground shook, right?" I remembered the events with a shudder, and softly nodded. "That was raw power, untapped by you. You were powerful, but only in those moments." My eyes widened, having never thought about it like that. Not only was I bad at fighting, I was clearly shit at critical thinking. "We'll focus on allowing you to tap into that power. Be aware, I will do things to make you extremely angry at some points." He said grimly, and I sighed through my nose.

"Well oh boy, that'll just be a barrel of monkeys."


	8. Wanting

The ground shook as exploded into a berserker rage once again, wildly charging and swiping at Headmaster. He grinned in excitement, hoping that I would finally be able to properly harness this power. To no avail, however, because I let out a guttural cry, dashing at him. I could only try to resist, pulling away with all my might inside of myself, trying desperately to regain conscious control of myself. His knee slammed into my gut, and I only growled at him, swinging a sloppy punch at him before the world slowly faded to black. Right before I passed out, I heard Headmaster's disappointment, "A week and still no luck. How troublesome…"

I woke up surrounded by rocks, facing the open fields that were far below. I groaned, getting up and holding my head and looking around, hoping to regain my bearings in such an unfamiliar place. I was definitely in some sort of cave, judging from the stalactites that sat above me, threatening to drop down and kill me. " _Great, is there anywhere that doesn't want to fucking kill me?_ " I thought as I looked back down. In the back of the cave was a hot spring, the steam and light bubbling inviting me in to relax and escape the hell I had volunteered for. " _Well, I didn't really have much of a choice…_ " I thought as I shed my clothes, stepping slowly into the water. Thankfully I saw the herb Storvio floating in the water, which allowed a Vampire to come into contact with water without getting harmed. I let out a deep sigh as my whole body, save for my head and neck. I looked down at myself, the cuts and bruises from my training with Moka healed, and replaced with cuts from Headmaster's ruthless attacks. He was so adamant about this training, it was almost scary! Then again, Moka used to just insult me, while Headmaster just…Scolded me. He must think I'm holding back for whatever reason, and he keeps egging me on to just let go, and take the reigns to my power. " _Whatever I'm doing, he'd better tell me how to do it, cause I sure as hell just want to be done with the constant cycle; Train, go berserk, get KO'd, rinse and repeat._ " I thought as I leaned my head back. After what felt like hours, I got out of the spring, drying off and walking to my suitcase, which was conveniently located under my bed. I got on a plain black tank top and a pair of jeans, as well as my running shoes, which I had decided to bring just in case. I walked out to the mouth of the cave, looking out at the sprawling plains, a warm breeze blowing into the cave, rustling my hair. Since I had started going to Youkai, it had reached my shoulders in the back. " _I'll need a haircut when this is done._ " I thought, noticing white in the corner of my right eye. I looked, and saw a piece of paper stuck to the cave mouth. I took it off the wall, and read it.

" **Jason.**

 **You're going to learn to survive as well as harness your power** ( **which you still haven't come even close to doing** ) **. A mile from here is a forest with everything you'll need. Take only what you can carry with you. Below this note is a backpack you can use to carry supplies. Be back before sundown.**

 **Signed, Headmaster.**

I looked down, and picked up the large red backpack Headmaster mentioned, slinging the straps over my shoulders. As I walked towards the edge of the cave, I saw there were no stairs or anything, just a wall of rock. " _Great. Looks like I'm climbing, too. Crazy old man…_ " I complained to myself as I began the climb down to the grass below. I looked out, and past the forest, I saw a large lake, the sunlight reflecting off its still surface, making it look like diamonds floating atop the water. Around halfway down, I slipped, and fell. I flailed frantically, catching myself on another handhold. I screamed in pain as I felt my left shoulder dislocate. I looked down, seeing there was only a three foot difference between me and the soft green grass below me. I pushed off the rock, landing on the grass in a crouched position. I cried out as my shoulder throbbed in pain, and I cringed further as I saw it. I grit my teeth, only seeing one alternative; I had to force it back into place. I counted to three in my head, and slammed my right hand up into my armpit, pushing upwards. "AGHHH!" I yelled out, clutching my relocated shoulder as I fell onto my knees and my vision blurred. I got up from my knees, gritting my teeth as the pain slowly faded. I moved my left arm around to test my shoulder. Seemed fine, for now. Hopefully my vampire regeneration could take care of the rest. I sighed, ready again to keep moving and start foraging for supplies, starting with food. I didn't want to go hungry, after all!

I walked out, intent on just catching something and killing it. I whistled a soft tune to myself, both to entertain myself, and to draw out something to kill. Surely enough, one large bearish animal came to me, roaring threateningly. My heart skipped a beat, and yet…Time once again slowed down, but only in terms of the animal. Perhaps my training was yielding fruit after all, as I ducked under the beast's sloppy swipe, plowing my fist into the side of its head. I strafed to the left, and hit it on the other side of the head, hearing a sickening crack and spurting sound. It fell to the ground, blood streaming from where its skull pierced its brain. Disgusting. I smelled its rather sweet smelling blood, and shrugged. I could always use some more blood, right? I bent down, getting on my knees, and lapping up the blood as it streamed down its face. " _This is too slow, I'll be here forever!_ " I thought, and I viciously bit into its neck, draining it of its blood. I licked my lips, and sighed. " _Fuck…This is gonna be fun to drag back._ " I thought to myself as I took hold of the big oaf's arms, and began to drag it back towards the wall. I sighed, looking up. If I had to guess, the mouth of the cave was about 500 feet up from the ground. " _Welp…Here goes nothing._ " I gripped the animal's arms, preparing myself. I took a deep breath, focussing all my energy into my arms. "HYAGGHH!" I yelled as I hurled the thing up into the mouth of the cave, barely making it over. My arms burned with lactic acid like pain as I fell to my knees, panting and sweating profusely. "Fucking…Hell…I'm weaker than…Soulja Boy." I chuckled at my shitty jab, and sat down, resting my head against the rock. " _I should get wood next…Going to need to cook at some point tonight._ " I thought, closing my eyes and resting.

About two hours later I woke up, rubbing my if that would somehow make me less tired. I got up, and wandered about the forest until I found a sizable tree, and I inspected it, approving of the dryness and type of wood. It seemed to be Oak, or some variety of it. I concentrated on forcing my energy into my right hand. Success. I karate chopped the tree, and it cracked significantly, groaning as it fell to the ground, shaking it upon impact. I sighed, looking around for something I could use to chop it up. I found a couple of large rocks and a large stick on the ground, as well as some thick vines hanging from a tree. I hit one of the rocks onto the other, trying to get it sharp and flat, like an axe. I then took that same sharpened rock, and tied it tightly to the stick. Moving to the fallen tree, I chopped at it for almost an hour, getting a large pile of wood for myself into my backpack. " _That's weird…My backpack feels only a little heavy._ " I checked, and the backpack was about halfway full. I blinked, and shrugged, zipping the bag up and slinging it back over my shoulders. I decided I should get some more food so I walked towards the lake I saw on the way down. I decided against trying to use a fishing pole, since I had no idea how to even make one, and I was too damn lazy. I sharpened a stick until it was sharp and looked for some fish.

There were some I'd never even _seen_ before, huge, scaly fish that were pure nightmare fuel, all the way to huge Megaladon looking things. I stabbed at a few fish, catching even fewer; A whopping two medium sized fish. I put my stick down, and I sighed sharply, looking up at the planet looming above me. "This sucks…" I said to nobody in particular, and I closed my eyes, thinking about everyone back at Youkai. How were they doing? Did they even realize I was gone? " _They're probably glad…_ " I thought sadly to myself, still disgusted that I nearly killed Kurumu and Mizore. Then I thought of Moka, and my chest felt as if it were being pressed against. I almost felt… I didn't know how to vocalize my feelings, even though I thought I hadn't liked her. " _I'm not falling for her…Am I? She's cold to me, she's ruthless… Hell, I don't even_ know _her! She could be crazy for all I know!_ " I thought to myself, internally fighting with myself. I got up, and fished for another hour or so, catching about seven more fish, adding up to a total of nine fish, which was enough for a couple days at least. As I got up, fire shot through my right leg as I screamed out in utter agony; Some sort of black alligator looking thing had bitten me, its teeth sinking through my flesh and into my bone. I gripped a rock, frantically trying to hit it on the head and stop it from dragging me into the water. Alas, it did nothing to prevent my watery fate, as the rock uselessly bounced off the hard scales of the reptilian monster. It backed up, dragging me slowly into the water, increasing my pain, and decreasing my chances of survival. Electricity crackled on my flesh as I screamed out in utter agony, the water sapping my strength as I was pulled all the way under the water.

"So this is how it ends...Drowned and eaten by some kind of alligator..." I thought to myself, giving up almost all hope of surviving as I weakly thrashed against the monster. "Tsukune... Moka..." A fire erupted in my chest suddenly as my life flashed before my eyes. I felt the power of a berserker rage come upon me, and I felt some measure of solace. I noticed that I wasn't charging right ahead as I usually did, and I furrowed my brow, not even noticing that I did it of my own accord "Wait...I'm not going on autopilot...? I don't understand I- Wait...Maybe..." I thought about my situation, my lungs bursting, and I decided to see if my hypothesis was right. I kicked upwards, and the monster flew off my leg, and out of the water. I quickly crawled out of the water, coughing and spitting up water. I looked down, and noticed that not only was my leg healing, but it was covered by some sort of black armor like material. I felt the ground tremble as I stood up, power I'd never felt before coursing through my veins. I looked at my hands, seeing black forming in a glove like pattern, the same material covering my hands and forearms.

"I never would have guessed it." I heard a voice coming from my left, and I quickly turned, seeing Headmaster. "I heard you scream and then go silent, so I though you were in trouble" he explained, walking over to me and examining me, walking around me and studying every inch of me. Minus…Y'know, my **ass** ets. I blinked, and looked at him, obviously confused.

"Never would have guessed what? And why are you looking at me like I'm some sort of show dog?" I asked him, sort of creeped out by his way too personal assessment of my body. He chuckled, and grinned, looking me in the eye.

"You're a Shinso my boy. The most powerful and rare kind of Vampire. You'd be interested in knowing that their regenerative abilities, as well as others are heightened immensely. Come." He motioned for me to follow him, and I grabbed my bag and the alligator beast, following Headmaster to the cave wall. "I'll teach you all I know, though it's very limited. Firstly, you should be able to concentrate your power in new ways. Push energy out of your feet." I blinked, looking down at myself. I closed my eyes, imagining I was pushing a stream of energy from the bottoms of my feet. I suddenly wobbled like a top, almost done spinning. Due to the suddenness of this, I lost concentration, falling onto my ass.

"Waghh!" I yelled out, my tailbone thudding against the dirt. I sighed, getting up and wiping myself clear of dirt and grass blades. "Holy shit. I can fly?" I asked Headmaster, and he chuckled, and nodded, clearly amused by my child-like reaction.

"Yes, you can. I can teach you many things about harnessing your energy, now that you have the means of controlling it. I'm honestly shocked that you're a Shinso Vampire, I didn't expect it from you. Now you have the means of harnessing that immense Berserker power. I'll teach you every technique I know, Jason." He said, his eyes and teeth gleaming with intent. "For now, climb up to the cave." He motioned to the horizon, the setting sun casting an orange glow upon the sky. "We'll need to make a fire soon, after all~" He began to climb up the wall quickly, and I sighed. I shoved the beast onto my shoulders, and climbed up the wall, finding it considerably easier than climbing down. I sighed as I pulled myself into the cave, and set the bag and beast down in the middle of the cave. Headmaster pulled out some wood, and some rocks he must have collected, making a fire pit. As the fire was started, I began cooking the fish I caught, and the sizzling comforted me. " _A Shinso Vampire, huh…? I heard about them in legends I read, but…Never thought they existed. Maybe now I can be strong!_ " I thought to myself, excited to finally have strength.


	9. Burdens

"Again." I pushed my hand forwards in a punch, focusing my energy into the attack. **Boom**. A push of energy explodes from my fist, leaving a small ditch in the grass. "Focus, Jason. You're holding back, I can tell. You aren't doing it on purpose, your subconscious is scared of using too much power. Shinso Vampires are known for their nearly limitless reserves. Let go!" Headmaster explained, and I panted lightly, nodding. It had been a month since I started my training, and I was slowly getting used to my new abilities. Just yesterday, I had made a bat wing from my arm, and changed it back. My body was in better shape now, thanks to the vigorous training Headmaster was putting me through. "Try one more time. Imagine you're running. You need to run for longer in order to get better distances! The same concept applies to your energy, Jason! Use more of it, and in turn, you'll be more proficient at using that amount!" Headmaster held his fist up, shaking it with his words to emphasize his point. I nodded, and shut my eyes, concentrating. Imagining a collection of all my energy was kept in my navel in a ball shape, I flowed it into my right arm. As I pumped more energy into it, I started getting an odd, scary feeling. " _It feels like my arm's gonna explode!_ " I winced, gritting my teeth as I kept drawing energy. " _C'mon…Just a little more..! Remember what he just said, you dick!_ " I scolded/encouraged myself. My arm felt as if it was swelling up like a balloon at this point, and I groaned loudly. "LET IT GO!" Headmaster screamed, and I complied.

"UOWOOOOUHHH!" I screamed, thrusting my arm towards the ground in front of me. The world shook tremendously as a huge " **BOOM!** " ripped through the air, dust and debris flying up and around us. I panted, my brow beaded with sweat from the huge exertion of energy. The dust settled, and Headmaster looked at me, smiling yet again. I could tell he was satisfied with my little show, and I looked down, my eyes widening as I saw the destruction I caused; A huge crater, about the length of a small SUV, and at least 10 feet deep was before me. "Oh my God…I can't believe…" I looked at my hand as I voiced my disbelief, amazed that I could have caused something like that. "Shinso Vampires…I see why they're so revered now." I commented to Headmaster. He nodded, walking over to me and placing his right hand on my shoulder. He looked down at me, in his monster form he was at least 7 feet tall.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you Jason. That Berserker power, it's almost exactly the same as what you just did, in terms of raw power. Perhaps…" He trailed off, putting his finger on his chin. I looked at him, and he raised his finger, as if he were about to say 'Eureka'. He nodded, and continued his thought. "Maybe it wasn't Berserker at all. Maybe it was your dormant Shinso blood awakening, even if only for a short time." He hypothesized, which made me widen my eyes, and shake my head.

"That doesn't make sense…From what I've heard, it doesn't happen like that. It's only when you get the blood of a Shinso Vampire, and I haven't been turned by one!" I said, and Headmaster shook his head.

"Who turned you into a Vampire, Jason?" Headmaster bluntly asked, and I paused, thinking about the horrible, painful process. The man who did that to me…That was a name and a face I could never forget, no matter how much I wanted to. I sighed, his horribly charming face staying in my mind, taunting at me and sneering at me.

"His name…His name is Danag Everlid. He's a high ranking Vampire in their government." I explained, and Headmaster's gaze changed into something I had never seen from him before, and that I'd never expected to see. I saw true, unbridled **fear** in his eyes, as his jaw slowly dropped.

"He…He's one of the most powerful one since…. "He trailed off again, shaking his head. "Not important. What _is_ important is the fact that he's obviously a Shinso. There's no other possible explanation for it, I'm certain. I wonder why you weren't immediately turned, though… You should have already been fully awakened as a Shinso when he turned you, right?" He asked, cocking his right eyebrow. I furrowed my brow, thinking about it for several seconds. " _He didn't look like this, so…Maybe he himself was sealed somehow._ "

"Maybe he was sealed when he turned me. That would make sense, right?" Headmaster shook his head, and I chuckled, looking down and shaking my head. "Well, we can't focus on how I'm this Shinso thing right now. The thing we have to focus on is getting me stronger. Because I'm the weakest of the weak, even with this whole super mega ultra shit I have. And I think you said you'd train me, if I'm not mistaken." A smirk played across my lips, and it was clear Headmaster was having the same reaction as I. He nodded and stepped back, getting into a fighting stance. He moved his index and middle fingers, beckoning for me to charge at him. Drawing from my power once again, I charged at him and threw an explosive right hook when I was in range. Headmaster pushed it to the side, countering with a swift kick to my chest. I cried out in pain, putting my left hand on my chest. I grit my teeth, and charged at him again. One thing I had learned was how to move faster, and rather well, too. I feigned a left hook, then I dashed to his right side, pushing energy out of my foot as I kicked him in the small of his back. He flew forward, and I grinned. I ran at him, throwing a flurry of punches. He quickly turned around to catch my fists with his forearms, completely absorbing the damage. "You're too damn good, Headmaster." I grunted, throwing a kick at his left side, which he caught with his left hand.

"I've had a while to perfect my technique, my boy. But, your power is getting much better, in case you haven't noticed. You managed to hurt me this time~" He complimented and released my foot. I stepped back, readying myself once again. "Remember a month ago, when you couldn't even damage me?" I nodded in reply, and his gaze suddenly became a deadly stare. "You have much to learn, still. Don't think it'll be this easy ever again, Jason. You're going to be pushed to your limits, and a mile beyond that." He warned solemnly, to which I nodded again, gulping. Headmaster wasn't fucking around, clearly. The next thing I knew, he was right in front of me, swinging his fist up into my gut. I gasped, the air being sucked from my lungs as he lifted me up, slamming his other fist into my back and sending me to the ground. I groaned, propping myself up on shaky arms, looking up at Headmaster. " _Shit…! His power's insane! If I don't get stronger, he's really going to kill me!_ " I thought to myself, shakily standing up. "Just so you remember~ Now, you deserve a break for the day. Come, back to the cave. We still have months of training to do…" Turning around, he began walking towards the all too familiar wall of rock that lead to the cave. As he began climbing up, I decided to practice flight. Pushing energy from the bottoms of my feet, I slowly levitated. I opened my eyes, seeing I was calmly levitating above the ground, like a feather would in the soft breeze of a perfect summer's day. I pushed a burst of energy down, and I sprang up through the air, just about 10 feet upwards. " _Hmm..Maybe if I…_ " I pushed more energy from my feet, increasing the intensity of power escaping. I shot up through the air, soaring above the cave.

"WOAHH! I'M DOING IT!" My yells pierced through the otherwise calm air as I flew this way and that, learning the subtleties of controlling yourself while flying. I flew downwards, and stopped as I fell towards the cave's mouth. Landing into a shoulder roll, I smiled, looking at a rather amused Headmaster. "Oh come on…That was fun!" I enthusiastically said, feeling like a child once again. The feeling brought another, weighing it down; Sadness, and homesickness. Thinking of being a kid made me miss the simpler times, when I was with my family. My Dad making inappropriate jokes, and my Mother scolding him. " _I'm coming back to America, guys…Just not yet. I promise, I'll come home safely._ " I thought, making a silent vow that they'd never hear…

Later that night, as I slept, my dreams were haunted by violent images against a black nothingness, appearing in flashes of motion. A great beast, unlike any I'd seen, destroying everything in sight… The deaths of millions of people, and… I shot up, screaming in lamentation for a death that never happened, yet felt so real. As if it hadn't happened, yet was bound by fate to happen. The same beast, laying waste to cities, a woman with light blonde hair, wearing a shimmering dress, standing before the fallen. Moka, Kurumu, Mizore, Rubi, and another. They weren't moving. I clutched my head as it pounded painfully. " _Was it a vision? I can't think of anything else it could be…_ " I stood up, only in a pair of pajama pants I brought. I walked out onto the mouth of the cave, looking up at the moon and planet, which glowed softly. The cool evening air hit my body and comforted me, helping clear my mind. "Maybe it's a warning to myself…I can prevent that, but I have to get stronger… Even if it isn't going to go that way…" I looked down at myself, clenching my fists. "I have to get stronger. For myself, and my **family**."


	10. Confliction

The next day, Headmaster and I were doing our daily sparring. I ducked, narrowly avoiding a solid right hook, and countered with a leg sweep, causing him to fall. He caught himself, springing back and slamming his feet into my face, the ground cracking as my head went into it. I groaned, kipping up and swinging at my opponent, trying to focus my energy. My entire body was full of energy, and I could feel myself expanding. " _Not good…! It feels like I'm gonna explode!_ " I thought, and I grunted, my movements becoming more labored, and less efficient as my body literally swelled up a little. I concentrated on pushing my energy out of me, thinking of a radiator letting its steam out. I felt my body go back to its normal size, and Headmaster stopped for a second, confused at what he saw; A flame like aura surrounded me, singing the grass beneath me with its intense heat. I used this opportunity to dash around Headmaster, slamming my elbow into his back, sending him into the air. Not wasting a single second, my foot slammed into the ground, pushing me at Headmaster, my fist pulled back in preparation to strike him as I charged my fist with energy. He turned, and my fist met his face, and I swear I saw a tooth among the blob of blood that erupted from his mouth as he violently changed directions, his neck whipping to the right, his body jerking to a stop and dropping. Catching himself on all fours, Headmaster grinned devilishly towards me, blood on his front teeth.

"Yes! That's what I like to see, Jason! You're using your power much better than yesterday! You picked up on it fast, I must say. Almost abnormally so." Headmaster congratulated me, placing a hand on my left shoulder. I let my energy fade down, the aura around me disappearing all at once as I capped my energy inside of me, ready to use. After the dream I had last night, I spent hours practicing my energy use. " _Clearly it paid off…_ " I mused to myself, a slight smirk crossing my face. "Well, I've but one more technique to show you, and you'll be left alone. I have ah…" He put on his signature creepy grin, and in his monster form, it was way more frightening. "Business to attend to at the Academy. Come. I can only use this technique once in a while, so pay close attention." He said, walking out towards a tree bordering the forest. "As you'll soon discover, this uses up a large chunk of energy." Headmaster planted his right foot behind him, holding his left arm to his side, flexing his fingers in a claw formation. His fingertips glowed with energy, and Headmaster looked at me. "Concentrate your energy into fine points. Like your fingers are paintbrushes, the energy will be the paint." With that, he swiped, and five streaks of energy flew from his fingers. They hit a tree, and cut through it in five places, exploding as well. Shakily, he fell to his knees, and I crouched adjacent to him, taking his arm.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked incredulously, baffled by the technique demonstrated to me. He got up, and panted lightly, his brow beaded with droplets of sweat. He nodded, taking his arm from my grip. He sighed, looking at the destroyed tree. Its remains smoldered lightly due to the sheer heat of the explosion, a couple pieces on fire.

"See that?" I nodded, and Headmaster continued. "That's the technique, what I'd consider a last resort. It uses far too much energy for me to use more than once, unfortunately. It's a devastating technique, but I suppose that's the trade-off, isn't it?" He chuckled, and in one swift motion, grabbed my hand and pulled it up so my palm was facing me. "Your Shinso body will allow you to use this technique many times consecutively, so I suggest you learn it." Once again, he grinned, looking down at me with a creepy, almost mocking expression. "After all, a Shinso Vampire developed this attack~" My eyes went wide, and I looked at my hand, the world behind it going out of focus.

"A…A Shinso did…?" I looked at Headmaster, gulping. My world kept getting flipped around so much, I couldn't tell what was imagination and what reality was anymore, the two instead intermingling. Never in my life had I dreamed I'd be in an alternate dimension learning Vampire techniques! Headmaster nodded, and I looked up at him. "Was it….The one who turned me..? Danag?" I asked, hoping dearly that such a vile man didn't know such a technique. The things he would do with it….The atrocities he would commit… My blood chilled at the thought.

"No, though I wouldn't have put it past him. The Shinso who invented this technique was one of the so-called Three Dark Lords: Akasha Bloodriver." His expression turned to one of…Sadness? I hadn't ever seen that from Headmaster, his moment of weakness getting to me. I frowned slightly, and he continued. He must have seen my question coming, and he gave me a sentimental smile. "She was a dear friend of mine from long ago." He said softly, and shook his head. "But, we can't dwell on the **past** , now can we?" He smiled walking to my left side. "Now, try the technique for yourself." He watched me eagerly, awaiting my action.

"Sure thing." I casually said, and I took a deep breath through my nose, closing my eyes. " _Fingers are the brushes…Fingers are the brushes… That would really itch in the down under!_ " I smirked, holding back a chortle. I concentrated once again, feeling energy moving to the tips of my fingers. I felt them begin to get warm and surge with energy. I pushed the energy into fine points, my muscles burning as my energy strained my body. This wasn't like anything I had done, and my fingers now felt like knives were being stabbed through my fingers. "Hyagh!"I screamed, swiping my hand in front of me, my fingers tracing where the energy should go. The streaks of energy flew from my fingers, hitting the tree before me. Instead of cutting through them, they merely contacted and exploded. I frowned, and looked at Headmaster. "Damn… I thought I'd get it, too." I sighed, looking at my hand. "Guess I have a lot of work to do, huh?" I chuckled, and walked over to Headmaster.

"Well, you'll be here for quite some time. Another four months, if all goes accordingly~" He said, and I smirked, thinking about it. " _Training here all alone for four months…? That's a long time! Maybe I'll really be better by it, but…I want to see my family as soon as possible, too._ " I thought to myself, in conflict with my own fears and desires. I closed my eyes briefly and nodded, opening my eyes again.

"Alright. I'll stay here. At the first sign of trouble for my family, or my friends, I'm leaving." I said sternly, looking Headmaster square in the eyes. He nodded, and soon a sly smirk crossed his face.

"I'll warn you, Jason. Once you leave, you'll find it very difficult to come back if you choose to~" He warned, a grim tone in his voice, yet his smirk made it seem as if he was scheming something. " _He knows something I don't…?_ " I asked myself, and I nodded. Those consequences would be well worth the benefits of helping my family, or my friends. " _Or should I say friend. Only one who even remotely likes me in that gaggle is Tsukune, and even he just likes me because he's too damn friendly._ " I thought, frowning slightly in response to my inner voice. I walked towards the familiar rock wall that lead up to the cave, and I floated upwards into my pseudo-home. Headmaster soon joined me inside, and he sat across from me, the fire pit separating us. I looked out towards the sky, seeing that the sun was just beginning to lower in the sky.

"Headmaster…" I spoke as I looked back to him, seeing his head raise in attention. "I need to know something." My heart began feeling heavier as I thought of what would happen to me…What would happen to my family, now that I was this monster, cursed to a life of suffering and bloodshed. "What… What will happen to me now? Moka and the others?" I asked him, concern in my eyes. Moka brought on a feeling I hadn't felt before… It was like a hole was in my stomach, and my heart was being pulled towards it every time I thought about her. My mind and feelings clashed constantly about her, my mind thinking that she was just cruel and cold, but my feelings… She makes me feel a certain way that I just can't explain.

"Well now…why do you ask about them?" Headmaster asked, chuckling lightly to himself. "They have their own set of issues before them. And you have yours. Wasn't it you yourself who didn't care much for Moka?" He asked coyly, a question which annoyed me simply because he was right. I was dreading even being around her when I first learned that I'd be training with her. Even afterwards, I still didn't much like her. Maybe she reminded me of someone that I had once liked, but couldn't be with, Maybe it was some sort of odd twist of fate, the forces behind the universe deciding to mess with my life even further.

"I know, but…I think she's helped me more than I realize, and…I don't have any way to explain it. As much as I'd like to dislike her, to spite her, to **hate** her!" I grit my teeth, a heavy sigh escaping my lips. I shook my head, looking down. I opened my mouth to speak again, but Headmaster heard enough.

"I know the feeling of being attracted to a woman too, Jason. I may be an old man, but I'm not _that_ old.." He smiled sentimentally. "Honestly, Jason, I'm a bit of a strategist, but even I don't know how to factor in emotions. So, when the time comes. I believe you'll make the right decision. Now." He smiled, standing up, and walking over to a small brown knapsack on his side of the cave. "I have academy business to attend to. Stay alive, and keep training." He smirked, and began wrapping another set of Holy Locks around himself, reverting to the mysterious man I first met. He put on his white robe, and climbed down the rock wall, leaving me with my thoughts. I wasted no time in getting into bed, falling asleep fast.


	11. Revulsion

I woke up the next morning feeling as if a scorpion made its nest inside of my mouth. I smacked my lips distastefully and stood up beside the bed, the cold stone floor chilling the bottom of my feet like a refrigerator. I brushed my fingers through my hair, which, during the time I'd spent in Paradise had grown to reach my upper back, just above my shoulder blades. It felt oily and disgusting, prompting me to take a nice long dip in the cave spring. I got out and put on a pair of blue sweatpants, a black tank-top, and of course my shoes, worn out quite a bit since my training with Moka started. "Fuck, this is gonna suck. Being alone for a month is gonna make me go all Jack Torrance on a motherfucker…" I chuckled to myself. References are fun. Leaping off the edge of the cave, I enjoyed the air drying as I fell, and right before I hit the ground, I pushed a good bit of energy from my feet, stopping myself and floating peacefully five feet above the air before stopping the energy flow, dropping to the ground. The ground was slightly wet, a light squish sound emitting from each step I took towards the forest I typically hunted in. But hunting wasn't on my mind right now. No, the technique Headmaster told me about yesterday filled my mind, driving me to master it. " _I gotta get this… Danag has to_ **pay** _for the shit he did to me._ " I made a silent vow to myself promising his death. He had taken me from my family and turned me into some monster, using me as a guinea pig for his sick kicks. Every day, he put a smile on his face as he told me that he had 'special plans' in store for me. My teeth itched at the mere thought of what he could have possibly meant. Shaking my head, I concentrated my energy into the tips of my fingers like yesterday, closing my eyes and picturing the energy as a stream of plasma. I imagined it vibrating slightly, and I felt a slight hum ringing throughout my hand. I threw it, opening my eyes and gritting my teeth. "HNN!" I grunted, seeing the streaks fly at a tree, only more jagged this time. They sliced through the tree, and the chunks of log fell. " _No explosion…Fuck!_ " I mentally cursed, angry that this technique was proving to be more difficult than I thought. I sighed, and readied myself to do it again. Then I heard a horrible screeching sound to my right.

My heart skipped a beat as I turned, seeing a tall humanoid reptilian creature running at me, its arms out to its sides, claws out and ready to strike me. I ducked under its sloppy swipe, and walked backwards as it kept swiping. "SSSSTHH" it hissed at me, a threatening sound crawling from its tooth filled mouth as it dragged its long tongue along its mouth. It stood at roughly eight feet tall despite its hunched posture. Its scales were a deep yellow, like a stale piss left in a public bathroom, but this fact didn't make it any less threatening. It swiped again, and I glared at it, gritting my teeth. I let my body flow with energy, the black armor forming on me. " _No way am I going out like this! It's me or you, pal!_ " I prepped myself, and as the lizan swung at me again, I took its arm in both my hands, and planted my foot on its chest. The beast growled, and I yanked, savagely ripping the arm out of the lizan's socket, tendrils of muscle and ligament hanging from its shoulder. It growled, falling on its back and grabbing at the empty space that its arm previously occupied. I looked at the severed arm, a sick feeling burrowing itself in my gut and rising to my throat, and I suppressed a gag. I dropped the arm as I approached the feral lizard man, who was glaring up at me fiercely and baring its teeth. I sighed as I resolved to put the thing out of its misery, and raising my foot, I crushed the thing's skull with a sickening "CRAK"!

I slumped down on a nearby tree, sliding into a seated position on the ground as I stared at the bloody remains of the lizard man. My heart was pounding, sending liquid adrenaline through my veins like nitrous oxide. I let out a shaky sigh, looking down at my hands in complete and utter shock, appalled that I had just committed a brutal killing. "I can't believe… Why did I..? Oh God!" I felt tears begin to stream down my face as I reflected on my brutalization of a creature, the first time I'd ever **chosen** to do it. My head was a top, spinning all around and threatening to fall all at once. "No…I **had** to." I clenched my eyes shut, seeing spots in my blackened vision. " _It came at me! I did what anyone else would have done… Right?_ " I monologued to myself, as if someone were listening to my thoughts somehow. I snorted at the thought of that actually happening, and stood up. I took one more look at the cadaver that laid before me, and I turned around, walking towards the fields I first landed in on that fateful day. I smiled softly at the memory, a reminiscent feeling burrowing in my chest. I took a solid stance, my left foot in front of me, my right foot behind me, I leaned forward slightly, resting my weight on my entire left foot, and the ball of my right foot. I pushed down on my right foot, jolting forward in a quick dash, throwing my right hand directly in front of me, a huge " **BOOM** " erupting from my fist as destructive energy exploded from my hand. Not enough. I repeated the process, gritting my teeth as I charged more energy into my fist, and punching again. Not enough! I repeated again, charging more energy than before, a hot vaporous cloud streaming from my arm to prevent swelling. Another punch, and a louder " **BOOM** ", a bigger crater in the ground, crackling with the remnants of my energy. "IT'S NOT ENOUGH!" I yelled out, pulsing more and more energy into my hands, throwing punches one after the other. Subsequent forceful blasts erupted from my fists, destroying the ground more and more. Tears flooded my eyes and anger filled my heart as I punched. " _There's more I can do! Why can't I just be stronger?! This isn't good enough! Why can't I just be fucking good enough?!_ " I fell to my hands and knees, panting and sweating profusely. Tears streamed down my face and mixed with the tears, and the ground slowly began to rumble. I clenched my fists around the grass and stood, ripping them out of the ground and immediately burning them to ash as the familiar cloud surrounded me. I grew even angrier as I lamented my lack of worth, Moka's cold comments filling my head.

" **What kind of pathetic excuse for a Vampire are you?** " Her cold, scolding voice filled my head, taunting me more and more. " **You'll only be in the way.** " She said, her sneer etching itself into my mind again as she insulted me from another dimension. " **This is pathetic!** " She screamed, and my vision went red as I thrusted my hands down at my sides, looking up at the sky and letting out a bloodcurdling scream.

"UWOOHHHH!" A huge blast of energy erupted and blew away the surrounding area, a huge crater appearing underneath me and all around me. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" I screamed over and over, unaware that the crater was growing larger and larger with every passing second. Tears streamed freely down my face as I cried and screamed, unable to stop myself from thinking I was the weakest, even as some sort of super powered Vampire. "GYAHHHH!" I screamed once more before suddenly, the energy disappeared, leaving me suspended in air for a moment before I fell down in the crater. I grunted as I landed on my back, the blue sky and looming planet now filling my view. "I'll show you…Moka, I swear, you'll see what I'm capable of…" I softly whispered to myself before the world slowly faded to black.

My dreams were filled with horrible visions, a prophetic mish mash of violent demises. My family, the people that kept me going, were the center of these visions. Danag Everlid was the one who destroyed them, throughout my dreams. His beady black eyes staring at me, as if he knew I was his captive audience. He looked as if he were in his early 30s, yet his sinister tendencies spoke of decades of corruption. A hand plunged into my father's chest, blood and arteries hanging from the pointed fingers protruding from his chest. I gasped, and my father let out a wet gurgle before falling backwards, sliding off Danag's arm. Danag grinned, staring right into my soul as he brought the bloody hand to his lips, his pointed tongue sliding along his fingers. The scene shifted from the blackness of my first vision, to my former high school. The large brick building suddenly collapsed into itself, a purple mushroom cloud replacing the once proud building. The sounds of panicked screaming filled my head, bouncing around like an echo chamber even after I woke up. My face was dripping with sweat, both from the dream I had, and the hot, summer like environment I was in. I hadn't noticed it, but every day was seemingly the same; Hot, humid, and teeming with dangerous auras. I climbed out of the crater, noticing that my shirt and pants were in tatters, to say nothing of my shoes. The bottom completely hung off of them, making them appear as elongated mouths when I lifted my feet. Frowning, I took my shoes and socks off. I threw them to the side because I just wouldn't need them anymore, not in their current condition. " _Knew I should have brought that duct tape!_ " I snickered for a few moments at my horrible joke and walked off towards the forest.

Day after day, I trained harder than I did with Headmaster or even Moka for that matter. Each and every day, I would work out every part of my body until I felt like I'd fall apart, and then I would go off to fight anything that crossed my line of sight. On the third day, for example, I did my daily regimen: Fifty pushups in a handstand position, followed by eighty bicycle kicks. Thirty single legged squats on both legs would then come next, forty shoulder presses with heavy boulders coming afterwards. My body felt tired and sluggish, yet I kept going, walking over to a dragon, which had been in the process of eating a large reptile. It growled at me fiercely, the spikes on its back and tail rising up. I didn't care about it… No, my focus was on training, even as the dragon lunged at me swiftly, as I struggled to even lift my arms, I kept going, fighting the beast until it dropped to the floor in a bloody heap, unconscious. I grinned, my knees wobbling from a mixture of adrenaline and lactic acid buildup, and spat on the dragon before dragging it to my cave for dinner. The next week, I focused mostly on energy control and manipulation, practicing and experimenting with different ways of using my inner power. For instance, the second day of that week, I learned I could make a sort of shield anywhere on my body by imagining my energy as a mass of hard material over my flesh. On the sixth day of that week, I finally mastered the technique Headmaster showed me before his departure, one I had appropriately named " **Sprengstoff Messerattacke** ", literally translating to "Explosive Knife Attack". I charged up my energy into the tips of my fingers as normal, slashing at the trees. I concentrated on those beams, making them implode on themselves upon slicing into the trees, making a large explosion. Large pieces and small splinters of the trees sprayed into the air at me, and I would have had splinters pretty much everywhere if I hadn't made a basic energy shield over my whole body. The pieces of wood disintegrated upon touching the shield until no more were flying through the air. I stopped producing the energy form with a heavy sigh, falling to my knees from slight overexertion. The strain of making it was a bit too much for me, given my lack of practice with the technique. I sighed, standing up and shaking the dull pain in my head off and walking back home.

The days went by in a blur, yet every moment seemed to last a minute. Every drop of blood, of sweat and tears signified some sort of piece that was torn from me, whether physical or mental, my sense of right and wrong becoming a faint point. Brutalizing my opponents came easier and easier to me with each limb I tore off some beast. And the thought of this becoming second nature both terrified and inspired me… My chest felt like something was missing from it, a black hole replacing a piece of me. It grew and grew every day, consuming me ever so slowly as I watched. One day, I was fighting a huge demonic hound, which stood at a gargantuan eight feet, its teeth dripping with blood and drool onto the ground in front of me. It charged, and in a burst of speed, I strafed to the left, slicing its front paw off with a single beam of energy. The beast staggered, off kilter from its missing limb, the stump pulsing with blood, most of which got into my hair. I grit my teeth, not letting this thing get a single moment to recover, jumping up and slamming my fists down onto its skull and driving its muzzle into the ground with an earth shaking impact. It whimpered in pain and tried to back away from me. I looked at its pleading eyes emptily as I slowly approached it and gripped its jaw. "I'm afraid that you're not strong enough to live…" A sickening series of cracks and rips sounded from its neck as I ripped the wolf's head off its shoulders. "Down, boy." I dropped its head and turned around, seeing a face I didn't expect to be seeing for quite a while… "H…Headmaster?"


	12. Unification

Headmaster smiled at me in his own creepy way as he stepped down from a fallen tree onto the soft grass. At some point he must have gotten more Holy Locks, since he was in his older, less threatening form. He wore his familiar white robes, making him mysterious looking as always. "Yes, I'm back Jason. And I have some, well, frightening news." My brow furrowed in a mix of confusion and concern at his words, and he simply smiled. "Let me explain. Your friends at the Academy are currently on a trip to the Snow Village that Miss Shirayuki is from." He paused to take a breath, and opened his mouth to speak, but my own voice stopped him from speaking.

"I don't think they want to see me. Considering the fact that I almost killed Kurumu and Mizore, they'd likely want to see me dead in a ditch." I paused for a second, remembering how eerily friendly Tsukune was. Sure, I admired that quality about him, but at the same time, it seemed…Naive? It was too innocent for someone who's been through so much, supposedly. "Maybe not Tsukune, but I'm at least one hundred percent sure they want me dead for what I did." I said solemnly, my eyes traveling from his face to the ground in a slow motion. Headmaster chuckled, and tapped me on the shoulder. In his right hand he held a small monster with eight legs, and one huge eye occupying its face. "A Shikigami? Where'd you- Nevermind, don't really care. Why do you have it?" I asked instead, my gaze going back to Headmaster and his little thingie.

"Well, since you know what they do, I don't have to waste any precious time explaining this marvelous being to you." He set the Shikigami down on the ground, and tapped it on the head. Its eye began to glow before showing off an image of a huge building made of ice. I whistled, feeling cold just by looking at the massive amounts of snow. "Right now, everybody is on their way inside for some sort of special 'coming of age' ceremony." Headmaster looked at me, and crossed his arms. "They, according to Rubi, will be getting a bit more than they bargained for." Always vague as fuck with his answers, I was forced to ask the obvious.

"And what are they getting?" I asked, sighing heavily through my nose out of frustration. I hated when people beat around the bush, and this guy was whackmaster five thousand. " _I swear, the way this guy talks is like some shitty author trying to further a plot…_ " I shook my head and listened on.

"Well, we don't exactly know. But, Rubi is a skilled witch, and she's sensed extremely dark omens coming from that temple today. Someone is going to die at this point. She's going with them to keep tabs on them, and help out with whatever it is she's sensing." My heart skipped a beat as I heard such darkened words. "I see that got your attention." My eyes must have been wide as saucers, if it were that easy to read my emotions. Despite how they probably felt about me, I didn't want them to get hurt. They were genuine people, and they didn't mean to hurt anybody, that much I knew about them from my brief friendship with them, if one could even call it that. "You have two options, Jason. You can stay here for, oh, a few more months. Perfect your training, and emerge a true warrior without equal in this world." He grinned, his eyes almost **glowing** white under his hood. "Or you can leave, hop onto the bus to the Snow Village, and try and save them." I nodded slowly, weighing out my options. "And, I might add, you could very well die if you decide to go. No pressure." The last two words were spoken so cheerily, it seemed so off-putting for the gravity of the situation. I looked down at my hands, curling my fingers to make fists. Honestly, I had no idea how powerful I truly was. Everything in Paradise was fairly easy to kill, Dragons included, and now I had nothing to compare myself to besides Moka. I decided…

"I'm going to go, Headmaster." I spoke unwaveringly, taking a confident stance, my legs shoulder width apart. Even if they hated me, they still deserved to live… Not that I was trying to be some sort of 'Holier than thou' hero type, it was just… I couldn't stand the thought of such genuinely nice people being killed by someone. "I can't let innocent people die. I'd want someone to help me if I were in trouble, so I'm giving them that too." Headmaster raised an eyebrow almost condescendingly at me and grinned. Did that guy ever stop fucking grinning?

"That's your choice, then. But be warned, once you leave, you won't be able to come back for quite a while. Do you understand?" He asked me, and I nodded immediately. "Then, you can get whatever you think you'll need, and then you may go. I'll open up the doorway back to the Academy, and let the Bus Driver know where you're going~" Headmaster spoke in an amused tone. If I were a betting boy, he was expecting me to pick that option. I didn't waste time thinking about it, instead flying to the cave I called home, and picked up the only clean and intact shirt I had, a plain grey tee shirt. I put on a pair of blue sweatpants, and a pair of running shoes I'd packed in case I broke my other ones. I hadn't worn them simply because I was on grass all the time, so my feet wouldn't be on many hard surfaces.

About thirty minutes later, I was on the bus going through a tunnel, the familiar yet somehow alien swirling colors surrounding the bus. I leaned my chin onto the palm of my hand, thinking about the first day I'd arrived at Youkai; It seemed like such a long time ago, yet it passed me like a leaf in the autumn wind. "Hey, kid. Surprised you aren't staying at the Academy~" The bus driver spoke eerily, his voice ringing through the bus and into my ears. "These guys at the temple are no joke, sonny." I chuckled, shrugging my shoulders as I sighed.

"Yeah, I know what I'm stepping into. If I die, that'll be the end of it, right?" I asked, mostly pondering to myself about how I felt about that possibility. My heart was racing, pumping adrenaline instead of blood through my veins and into my brain. I felt like fighting, if I didn't then I'd surely start bouncing off the walls. The tunnel brightened, and suddenly we were in the Snow Village. Miles of snow greeted my eyes, the sun shining on it made me squint in pain. "Agh, fuck me!" I exclaimed through grit teeth, my eyes feeling like someone held a lighter to my cornea. My vision soon recovered, and I walked off the bus, shivering slightly. " _Shoulda brought a jacket…Dumbass!_ " I scolded myself, before waving goodbye to the Bus Driver. I then lifted off the ground, soaring towards the distant temple, landing right at the front door and kicking it in. " _Shit…There's a fucking monstrous power in there! Hang on guys, I'm coming!"_

—

The familiar feeling of the seal being released washed over me, showering me in a grand white light. I looked at my older sister, feeling her dark power radiating from her. Even worse, I felt an even bigger power coming from the outside of the temple. " _No good…If we don't finish this fast, everyone will…_ " I shook the thought from my head, and looked at Kahlua Nee-San, moving quickly. "The Rosario's seal…" I kicked her square in the face, looking her in the eyes as I did. "Long time no see, Nee-San. I'm happy to see you again." She flew backwards, crashing into the pillars of the temple and skidded into the hard flooring. "This is my greeting for our reunion. Please accept it." I said, seeing that she was incapacitated. I ran over to Tsukune and checked up on him. "Hold on Tsukune!" I said, and he smiled up at me as I held his held in my arms.

"Moka-San" He said, a small streak of blood running down his chin. "I'm okay. More importantly, the others… I can't tell if everyone is safe…We should quickly give them attention and make sure everyone is okay." The others, Rubi, Yukari, and Kokoa all were either getting up, or recovering from their wounds, inflicted by Kahlua-Nee san. I sensed the huge power coming into the temple, quickly coming this way. " _Dammit! We're going to die for sure…_ " I thought worriedly, keeping my face expressionless. I nodded, and looked back down at Tsukune.

"At any rate, just in case Nee-San gets up again you should get to the front so that-" I started, when I was interrupted by a voice behind me.

"Amazing…" Kahlua mused from behind me, getting back up from my attack. "So strong, even after all that nobody died. So I too… **Will bring out my own true strength**." She menacingly warned us, my eyes widening at her stone cold demeanor. I turned around to look at her, seeing that she was on one knee holding the back part of her dress in her right hand, making it look like a flowing white cape. "Congratulations on having your seal removed… Father would be so happy to see such an awakening." She stood up again, and looked me with tears in her eyes again. "Moka-San, Kokoa-Chan, everyone. My task is to kill you all…" She reached up to her right ear, pulling off her cross shaped necklace. "I will also remove my limiter…" She said, and her arm began changing, shaking violently and turning black. Several black tendrils shot out from what used to be her arm and changed into thin, blade like bat wings.

"Tsukune, you guys… Get a lot further back." I said, clenching my fists tightly. "She's coming." At the same time, the power I had been feeling was right outside the room, and then, out of nowhere I heard the oddest name for an attack imaginable.

—

I spent the better part of about ten minutes plowing through the security guards in suits. "Fuck, they've got security up the fucking asshole!" I shouted as I punched through a man's head, kicking another man to pieces. I kept going, using as little energy as I could to get through the halls into the main area, where I felt several huge powers. Some of them were dwindling down… " _Shit! I'm gonna be too late at this rate!_ " I thought to myself, the powers but a door and one beef-cake looking motherfucker away from me. I charged a bit of energy into my right fist, and as the man threw a punch at me I ducked, sending my fist into his chest, blowing him backwards. Feeling the need to say something, I shouted, " **FALCON! PUNCH!** " Beefcake went flying through the door and right into a tan woman with bat wings in place of an arm. " _Holy shit…Kind of mushroom did I eat in Paradise?_ " I questioned my sobriety jokingly as I saw the shocked faces of Moka, Tsukune, Rubi, and another girl I wasn't familiar with, as well as the tan girl fly backwards under Beefcake. I saw Kurumu and Mizore laying on the ground, and I looked at the woman in the white dress.

Moka walked over to me, and in a flash, her knee slammed into my gonads painfully. My eyes widened and I went down onto my knees with my hands over my crotch. "The hell kind of exit was that, idiot?! Not even a goodbye?" Moka exclaimed angrily at me as I felt my crotch burning with pain. Wait, did she just get mad because I didn't say goodbye to her? I groaned in an octave higher than usual, and shakily stood up.

"I wrote...Ngh…A letter…" I defended myself, and Moka looked confused, her brow furrowing. I looked at Tsukune, who went wide eyed and looked up. "DID YOU REALLY FORGET THE DAMN LETTER? I LEFT ON YOUR DOOR, MAN!" I yelled across the room, my anger shifting from the tan woman to Tsukune for a second. It seemed like the woman was about to get up, and I looked at her again. Sure enough, she threw the guy off of her and glared daggers at me, tears streaming down her face. Her power was spiking up even more than before as she started sobbing. She leaned forwards, and was right above us.

"UWAAAHH!" She sobbed loudly, almost like a horrendous cry of battle as she started moving her right…Appendages down at us. My instincts kicked in, and I produced a quick energy shield on top of my forearm, raising it above my head. Moka vanished and the blades passed through the afterimage that was left, leaving me to block her attack. She hit my shield and forced my arm in towards my head. I grunted, pushing against her forcefully until she went backwards a few feet. I glared at her, seeing through my peripheral vision that Moka was beside Tsukune, and that Kurumu and Mizore along with the others crowded around each other. I concentrated on the woman who attacked me, and I smirked, chuckling at what I was about to say.

"Y'know, I might not be tight like that with them, but…" I let my energy flow freely throughout my body as I stepped towards my opponent. "Trying to kill Kurumu and Mizore is kind of my thing. Read chapter five, you'll get it." I said, receiving a confused look from the group as a collective. The crying woman, meanwhile, seemed deaf to my words as she dashed at me, throwing a flurry of punches at me. The world slowed as I moved around her attacks, ducking and weaving like nobody's business. I loaded a good bit of energy into my fist, about enough to rupture at least her spleen, maybe her kidney and I threw my punch, striking her right in the gut, my fist sinking into the toned flesh of her abdomen. She flew backwards into the wall, blood spraying into my face. She got right back up as if she had just fallen down from running too fast. " _No way! I thought I ruptured an orga-_ "Three blades cut into my stomach, leaving behind three burning gashes in my abdomen. My eyes widened as I gasped at the sight of the woman in front of me. " _I couldn't even see her!_ " I thought to myself as I fell to the ground, clutching my stomach. Fresh blood leaked onto my hand and shirt, tainting them dark red.

"Jason!" Tsukune called out to me as he ran over to me and helped me up. I grit my teeth and pulled myself from his grasp, walking slowly towards the tan woman. "What are you-?"

"Tsukune, don't!" Moka called out from my right, Kurumu and Mizore were finally up with everyone else. "His power is spiking up… I can't even believe how much it's gone up." She said this incredulously, as if she was expecting to wake up from some kind of crazy dream. The tan woman looked at me and kept sobbing, and for whatever reason, it scared me more than anything. Someone who could cry and obliterate a person in a battle wasn't meant to be fucked with. In a movement, I was in front of her and moving to grab her arm. She jerked backwards in response, but I managed still to get a firm grip on her left arm and pull her towards my extended foot.

"HYAH!" I screamed as I completed my attack, releasing my grip and slamming my foot into her chest and audibly crushing her breastbone, ribs and organs. She plunged her bladed appendages into my gut and intestines, blood spurting out of my mouth. Because I kicked her, she flew backwards towards the wall, and since her blades were still imbedded into my flesh, I was dragged with her and thrown backwards even farther as they slid out of my skin and made the existing gashes deeper. Normally they would have healed, but all of my energy was focused on fighting and as a result, no energy could be directed towards healing my wounds which were pouring out blood fast. " _If I don't finish this fast, scarring won't be my biggest problem…_ " I thought to myself as I got up shakily and readied myself for one more attack.

"Alright. You can stop now, Kahlua." A voice rang out within the room, and I turned my head towards the mysterious voice. He was a formally dressed man with combed back black hair. If anything, he didn't look threatening, being that he was only about five foot nine, but the power he radiated was overwhelmingly strong! Kahlua stood up again, and walked towards the man slowly. As I glanced at the group, I saw confused faces all around and I heard mutters of Tsukune knocking the guy out earlier.

"So I don't have to kill? The order has been cancelled?" She said softly, looking up at the man. He nodded, and immediately she began wavering unstably, as if some kind of weight was lifted from her. "Thank goodness…" Was all that she said before passing out and falling into the waiting arms of the mysterious man. I coughed up a good bit of blood as I sighed in relief, the energy in my body now able to begin my healing. My eyelids slowly closed as I fell to the ground in a bloody heap.


	13. Reunion

The world slowly came into focus in a blurred mixture of colors which seemed to zoom out and focus, sort of like a camera. I groaned, sitting up and looking around. I saw that everyone was looking at me and talking amongst themselves. "…he's awake." I heard one of the girls say, and Tsukune walked over to me and helped me up. My core burned immensely from the freshly healed wounds, which were being stretched with my movements. Gritting my teeth, I stood up straight and walked over to the group, if not slowly. My eyes immediately went to Kurumu and Mizore, the memory of trying to kill them still etched into my skull. They looked surprisingly calm when they saw me. I sheepishly waved at them, an awkward smile crossing my face.

"Ah, hi… There's no way to get around this, so I'll just go out and say it. I'm sorry for trying to kill you guys. If it's any consolation, I didn't want to, and my body just sort of went on roid rage autopilot." I explained to them what happened over the last month or so, even my transformation.

Kurumu sighed and looked at me carefully, as if waiting for me to charge at her again. "It's alright.. You're not the first to try." She chuckled lightly, and Mizore simply nodded in agreement. A large weight was lifted off my shoulders at their forgiveness, and I smiled. Speaking of things on my shoulders…

"Hey, do any of you happen to know how to give a haircut? My hair's kind of long for my tastes." I said, gripping my long hair for emphasis. Moka, who was back to her pink haired form, lifted an eyebrow at my question. Everybody else looked around at each other until Yukari spoke up.

"I can give you one!" She said in her cheery little kid voice, holding up a strange card with a golden star on the back. I shrugged and sat down on the body of Beefcake, who was most assuredly dead from crashing into Kahlua. Yukari walked behind me, and there was a moment of silence. "Wasn't your hair black before?" She asked, and I turned around to face her, furrowing my brow.

"Yeah? It still is, isn't it? I haven't exactly had time to dye it another color." I plainly said, albeit a bit confused. The young witch handed me her wand which was acting as a mirror at the moment. I looked at my hair, and widened my eyes. My hair was still black, but it had a blood red undertone to it. "Oh. I see what you mean…" I said softly, handing the wand back to Yukari. "Must've been all the blood." I shrugged casually and turned back around. I heard metal whiz through the air and felt my hair being tugged and cut. This happened about three more times, and I reached up to feel my shorter hair. "Thank you!" I turned around and hugged Yukari softly before standing up. I walked over to Tsukune and nodded to him.

"Oh, hey Jason." He cheerily said, the blood that ran down his chin now gone. "You alright?" He asked, and I nodded in response. "Good, I didn't want you being hurt too badly. Those cuts on your stomach healed, right?" Brow furrowing, I lifted my ripped shirt up past my stomach and examined the three long scars that crossed my abdomen. "Oh…"

"It's alright. I hated my stomach's smooth look anyways." I chuckled and smiled softly. "Don't worry about me, man. I'll be alright. Are you alright? That Kahlua chick was crazy strong, even by my standards!" I exclaimed, drawing the attention of everyone else. They walked over to me and Tsukune, almost like some sort of mob of zombies. Kurumu spoke first, questioning me blatantly.

"Hang on a sec…What do you mean 'By my standards'?" Kurumu made air quotes with her index and middle fingers. "Last we saw you, you could barely fight a couple of A-Class monsters! Now, all of a sudden, you're fighting crazy strong enemies with only a couple scars?! What the hell kind of sense does that make!?" She asked rather zealously, her arms going to and fro as if to emphasize her speech. "Don't you dare lie. How did you get that strong? What happened to you in just two months to make you so… So **Moka-ish**?!" She spat out the last adjective.

On the bus ride back to the Academy, that was when I would explain it all. I softly sighed, knowing I should get one thing out in the open. "I've been training hard, harder than the training Moka put me through. I'll explain the rest on the bus, alright?" Not waiting for any sort of confirmation, I walked out of the temple and flew to the bus, leaving everyone else to murmur amongst themselves and get moving. I felt like one of those overly dramatic little bitch boys, admittedly, but it was a bit too late to go back inside the temple. Besides, they'd probably stand there talking all day if I hadn't urged them on.

As the bus began heading through the tunnel, I decided that I would finally begin story time. "Alright kids, gather 'round." I was met with a middle finger from Kokoa, the orange haired sister of Moka. "Anyways," I sighed softly and continued onwards, "I went to this special dimension that Headmaster designed, he called it 'Paradise', which is ironic as fuck." I put air quotes around the name, because, duh. "Headmaster trained me pretty hard for a month or so, then he left me alone, where I practiced using energy and using my combat abilities." The group just looked at me intently like a group of kids listening to their favorite bedtime story. "Well, it was either survive or die, so I was kind of forced to stop being a bitch." I laughed at my self insulting humor softly, despite the fact that it was true. "But what's been going on since I left? Still trying to get Tsukune's-"

"Actually, a whole lot's happened. We got tangled up in this whole killer ordeal, Gin was a prankster. It was pretty wild." Kurumu said, blushing as she mentioned the killer incident. " _Wonder what happened that's making her blush…?_ " I thought to myself as I nodded slowly.

"Huh. Well then, neat." I looked down at my seat, and I pursed my lips. I looked back at everyone and began laying down on the seat and curling into a fetal position. "Welp, I'm pretty tired from fighting and internally bleeding. I'm gonna take a nap." I said as I looked at the world upside down. "If I find a dick drawn on my face I'm kicking your asses." I warned as I smirked softly, closing my eyes and falling into a peaceful nap.


	14. Promises

I woke up just in time for the bus to stop at the cliff where it always did. I yawned and rubbed my eyes softly as I got up. Moka was standing above me with her hand up, obviously about to tap me or wake me up. "Hiya." I said in a groggy voice as I stood up and walked out of the bus. "Was I sleeping for the whole bus ride?" My memories before falling asleep were sort of foggy since I was still half asleep. Kurumu nodded to confirm my suspicions, and, pursing my lips and frowning, I walked towards the forest path that lead to the Academy. "Well, looks like we're gonna have class tomorrow."

As we were walking through the forest path, Moka walked up beside me and tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, I want to talk to you." My left eyebrow lifted upwards on my face. "Well, the Inner me wants to talk to you." She explained to me in a calm yet timid manner, which was pretty typical for this side of Moka. At least, what little I had seen of her before I ran off. "Do you want to-?" I shook my head.

"Much as I missed her condescending attitude towards me, no, I don't really want to talk to her right now. I have to get used to masking my power so I don't agitate the other students." I pursed my lips as I imagined all the fighting my power would probably create; A whole lot of people have over inflated egos in this academy… "Not that I want to sound cocky, it's just… I don't have a seal like you do, so I can't just switch back and forth. Besides, even if it wasn't that…" My eyelids fell as I gave Moka a half lidded and dark look. "I have my own plans to make." I said, my teeth itching at the thought of Danag Everlid. I cleared the man from my thoughts and sighed. "But, enough about that. We should probably go to class or something." I shrugged and kept on walking.

"Y'know, you never really told us anything about yourself, Jason." Yukari said to me from the right. I looked at her and furrowed my eyebrows. "I mean, we really only know your name and what you are. So, how about you tell us about yourself! Let's start with the most basic: Where are you from?" Her voice rang out cheerily, as to be expected from someone as young as her. It still baffled my mind that she was so young, and yet she was in her second year of High School.

"Well," I sighed, thinking back to my childhood as a human. "I grew up in this place in Maryland, called Germantown." I stopped walking and sat down on the dirt, leaning against a tree. "Weird ass place, too. People always called it ghetto and run down, but we were one of the richest counties in the state!" I chuckled for a moment at the memory, a warm feeling burrowing into my heart. "I had a good time there, there was a decent amount to do there. I'm sure you want to know something else, right?" All eyes were on me, and Kurumu raised an eyebrow. "You all want to know if I was born a Vampire or not, right?" There was a moment of tense silence as my words settled into the dirt and mixed into the air as leaves did in autumn. The warmth in my heart was shoved out of the way and replaced by an unsettling frigidness of undying sorrow and regret. "Fine…I guess I would have to get back to this eventually."

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Jason." Tsukune comfortingly stated, placing his hand on my left shoulder. "Nobody's going to force you to talk about it." He smiled softly and I gave him a half smile in response.

"Nah…I might as well talk about it." I sighed, leaning back further into the harsh bark of the tree. "Who knows, maybe I'll feel better about it if I do." I collected my thoughts, however painful they were, and took a deep, lingering breath. "First thing's first, let me just clear up a myth: Humans know about Monsters." I heard a gasp and turned to see Mizore with her hand over her mouth. "No, not all of them. Only a select few are trusted with that secret, and only so the rest of the humans don't find out." I pursed my lips and looked around at everyone. It was like their eyes were staring into my soul… "My parents were two of these people. One of the members of the Vampiric government had chosen them. On a condition." The sensation of being turned along with my own screams rang through my head as the memories floated up like freshly disturbed sand at the beach. "Knowledge has a price, and this bit of knowledge had a bit of a hefty price. A then fifteen year old price." I motioned to myself as a telemarketer would a product. "That's how I was turned, and that's why I'm here." I saw mixed reactions, ranging from shock to a sort of empathetic one.

"I can't say I know where you're coming from, but jeez…Do you resent your parents at all?" Kurumu asked inquisitively, her head tilted slightly and her brow furrowed. I shook my head softly. I muttered only one word, a word that, in that moment, held more weight than even Atlas of the Greek legends.

"No." I paused for a few tense moments and changed the subject. "We should really get to class." I murmured as I stood up and walked towards the Academy. My heart felt heavy in my chest, each beat a fist pounding on my ribs, every ounce of blood ice water in my veins. Talking about my family did no good to me, but it only made me more sorrowful and homesick. I felt a tear run down my cheek as I stepped into the building.

That night, I couldn't help but think about Moka, Seeing her again had been something I dreaded, but also anticipated. She would surely have killed me for what I did, yet all she did was get mad at me for not saying goodbye to everyone… I sat up in my bed, looking down at the three jagged scars Kahlua left on my abdomen. " _What's her deal, that girl… I've never fought anything like that, anything so…_ **Brutal** … _And those wings she had in place of her arm…Was that some kind of ability I don't know about?_ " I thought to myself as I got up and walked to my fridge for a midnight snack. I picked an apple and bit into it, chewing it absentmindedly as I continued pondering my future. " _I need to be stronger, still. If I'm ever going to kill that bastard Danag…_ " I clenched my right fist as rage filled my head at the thought of that manipulating, blackmailing piece of shit. " _I'm doing whatever it takes…_ " I thought to myself as I finished my apple and went to bed.


	15. Revival

I woke up the next morning and went through a routine I hadn't gone through in quite some time. Instead of going out and foraging for my own food and training, all I did was get dressed, eat a quick breakfast, shower, and brush my teeth all before going out to the main building. Moka and the others were all walking in the same direction, though Tsukune was missing. " _Odd, he's never been absent before…At least, that I know of._ " I thought to myself as I walked alongside Mizore and Yukari. "Hey, have you guys seen Tsukune today?" I asked, furrowing my brow in curiosity. Kurumu shook her head as the turned her head towards me.

"You know what, no, I haven't. Not since class ended today, actually." She pouted slightly and whined. "I wanna see my Tsukuneee!" She cried out, a gratuitous amount of tears literally **streaming** from her eyes. " _Can- Can the body hold and lose that much water?_ " I shook my head and tried to avoid the muddy puddles she was creating with her waterfall tears. If worms could talk, they'd be screaming about the downpour of water coming from the giant blue haired demon above.

"Jesus H…" I took a sharp breath and quickly raised my eyebrows in a sort of 'Let's move on from this absurd amount of tears and ecchi anime drama'. "So, anyways, where do you think he is?" I was met by an assorted jumble of "Iunno"'s. "That's helpful…" Then this little creepy, comes-from-out-of-nowhere motherfucker does his little appearing act. Again. Could this guy fucking teleport or something?

"You want to know where Tsukune is, hm?" He mused, his eyes glowing with amusement and the slightest bit of mischievousness. "I know where he is. In a special realm I like to call Paradise." He looked at me knowingly, followed quickly by the swinging heads of everyone else. "Yes, _that_ Paradise, the one Jason trained in recently. I think you've seen what effects that has on a person, yes?" The other's eyes burned into my skull like the Crystal Skulls from that one movie.

"So, you put him in this Paradise place," Kokoa called down as she hopped from a tree branch. "Sounds like a fun place to train. I'm in." She said confidently, her personality eerily similar to Moka's. I suppose that would sort of make sense, they were siblings after all. Headmaster did nothing but nod to Kokoa, and Moka stepped forward.

"Take us there too. We want to be with Tsukune, wherever he goes." She said with a surprising level of determination. It made me wonder how different she really was from her other personality. Maybe they weren't all that different as I previously thought. I nodded, giving a knowing look to Headmaster.

"Hm… Just know that you'll be getting no help in there." He was suddenly behind Moka, speaking soft words into her ear. "If you die, then you'll be a feast for the denizens of the realm~" He licked his lips and continued. "Now, how do you feel about going to Paradise, Moka? ~" Even I felt a shiver run down my spine. I remembered his real form, and it amazed me to think about how calm and collected he could be when he had that kind of power within him. He was also acting strangely macabre, even by his standards.

Moka jumped and looked at Headmaster fearfully. "Y..Yeah, we're gonna go…We'll be fine." She said, her voice quivering. "Can you take us there?" She asked, and Headmaster said nothing. Instead, he walked off, expecting us to follow, which we did. The familiar surroundings were filled with nostalgia for me, despite having only been a couple months ago… " _God, even in that short of a time, I've changed so much…_ " I reflected, looking down at my clenched right fist.

After we walked into Paradise, the warm air greeted me like a conversation left unfinished for years and suddenly continued again. I smiled and walked out to the field I had trained in before leaving, the crater was still there after I had left. "Is that from Tsukune?" Moka asked curiously, her voice raising ever so slightly in pitch as she said Tsukune's name. I shook my head and laughed.

"Nah, it was me. Basically I had a shitfit and got pissed." I explained, looking at Moka and hearing the echos of her other personality's words, the ones that had driven me to become so angry and yet so determined. My family's safety from Danag and his general assholishness made up a larger chunk of this determination, but making Moka regret how rudely she treated me certainly couldn't be disregarded as a factor. Though, me being an angsty teenager with seriously fucked up surroundings didn't exactly help with my anger issues either. Therapy's gonna be fun, though. Just as I was about to comment on how nice it was to be back here, I heard a roar, then a sharp "CRAK!"


	16. Feeling Uninspired

Hey guys, I know I just came back from a break, but I seriously have no idea how to take this story to where I want it to go. I might just put this on Hiatus and work on another story featuring my character. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for understanding.


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